


nothing lasts forever

by lip2jin



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:28:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 26,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24965965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lip2jin/pseuds/lip2jin
Summary: a time travel au with a bit of a twist
Relationships: Ha Sooyoung | Yves/Kim Jungeun | Kim Lip, Jeon Heejin/Kim Hyunjin
Comments: 2
Kudos: 70





	1. beginning

**Author's Note:**

> this ones for you oomf. 
> 
> hmu on my twitter: @lip2jin

Jungeun remembers it like it was yesterday, the day her whole world was flipped upside down.

You see, her parents were from the future. After they got married they decided on a honeymoon trip that would take them back a few years, but along the way they crash landed in a time they didn’t plan on. A whole hundred years earlier.

Their pod ended up in shambles, leading them to settle down in an unfamiliar time period, which they quickly grew accustomed to in the end. Jungeun always heard stories from her father and his hopes to take them back home to their time. He promised her that they would be back by the time she turns eighteen.

Now she was in her second year at university and she was sure all hope was lost. Until she got a call from her mother. The time pod was finally rebuilt after decades and they were leaving as soon as she returned home.

Question, were they insane? Her whole life was here, in this time period. She even thought her father was just a mad scientist spewing his crazy ideas for the better part of her childhood. Time travel was _real?_

They would be going back to their time, but her time was here. She couldn’t even imagine what a hundred years into the future would be like.

“What if I wanted to stay?”

“Sweetie, we wouldn’t be able to come back again.”

Jungeun watched the view blur through the tiny window in the small pod the three could barely fit in. She was strapped in a metal seat while her parents huddled around her. They originally came down in a pod fit for two, but now they were bringing her with them.

Just as she blinked, the view through the window stabilized, but the imagery wasn’t the same at all. Instead of the backyard she spent years running around in with her elementary school friends, she was met with tall business buildings.

The pod opened up and she watched as her father collapsed onto the pavement, cringing as he kissed the dirty ground. “He’s just happy to be home.” Her mother patted her shoulder before she bent down to pull him up.

They managed to calibrate the machine to take them a hundred years into the future. Twenty years would have passed from the time they left for their honeymoon all those years ago. They were much older and had a daughter, a full grown adult at that.

Being here just didn’t feel real, like it was all some elaborate fever dream her brain cooked up. There was a lot she didn’t know about her parents or the time period they were from.

She thought about what she had to leave, which wasn’t much really, but it was all she knew. Jungeun was reserved and didn’t keep friends around because her parents would usually scare them away. They didn’t want her to become too attached.

Looking around, it was almost what she expected the future to look like. Hovering cars in tubes, sophisticated buildings and robots floating around. What a cliché.

Their house was relatively normal besides the futuristic technology scattered about, which her father went through explaining every single one in fine detail. It still wasn’t feeling real to her.

She knocked out in her parent’s room, hoping some sleep would calm her overstimulated mind.

When she woke up, it was bright and early outside. She checked the clock and sat up abruptly, it was eleven in the morning. It wasn’t until she noticed a robot by her bedside did she realize that she didn’t have to care about waking up at a certain time.

No more university.

Wait, a robot?!

“Good morning, Miss Jungeun. Your parents wanted me to relay the message that they both have returned to work. They have also enrolled you in a local university to continue your studies. You will start tomorrow.”

So... more university?

She shook her head and brushed a hand through her hair. Jungeun figured she should get up and make some food for herself since she didn’t know when they would be back. Her parents never really talked about their occupations, she had to hear about it from a huge fight she eavesdropped on when she was a teenager.

If she heard correctly, they both worked for the government. Or what was left of it.

Cooking food shouldn’t be that hard, she thought, but just as she entered the kitchen, she knew she was in over her head. The robot whizzed past her. “Miss Jungeun. I have been programmed and tasked to cater to your needs.”

She raised her eyebrows, hand to her hip. “Is that so?” She mumbled as she observed her surroundings. Everything was unfamiliar to her, how did her parents do it? How did they adapt? “Can you make me some food and turn on the TV?”

“As you wish, Miss Jungeun.” The robot did a little bow and zoomed around the kitchen in record speed. A plate of nicely decorated pancakes settled in front of her on the counter. “Ta-da!”

Jungeun couldn’t help but giggle at the robotic voice. Maybe she could get used to this. She sat on the chair that appeared behind her and watched the screen lifting out of the island. She was curious about what shows and news would be like in this time period.

Completely different from what she expected, they played a lot of reruns of movies and shows that were brand new during her time and many more she couldn’t recognize. She wondered about the growth of music over the century, but wanted to save that experience for later.

The channel flipped to the news and it appeared in front of her like 3D. She watched in awe until breaking news flashed in front of her in bold red letters.

There were pictures of her parents.

“We are bringing to you the miraculous story of these two brilliant scientists.”

Jungeun’s eyes widened, waiting in anticipation. The robot rolled up next to her, also listening intently.

“The couple went missing on their honeymoon, only to finally return twenty years later. Their pod crash landed in the Year 2000, and they spent decades finding a way back. We are happy to see that they have made a safe journey home.”

Jungeun turned away from the screen and scoffed. “I sense that you are not pleased, Miss Jungeun.”

“They act as if it was terrible living in the early 2000s.” The words didn’t feel right rolling off Jungeun’s tongue, but she had to get used to it at some point. Her life was here now whether she liked it or not.

She made it back to her parent’s room— they still hadn’t set up a room for her— and jumped onto the bed. Just as she was getting comfortable, the robot followed her in and parked itself next to the bed.

“You have an incoming call.”

Her mother’s face popped out of the robot’s monitor, scaring the living daylights out of Jungeun.

“Sorry sweetie. You’re still probably getting used to the hang of things around here!” Well, that was an understatement. “I’m just calling to tell you that your father and I will be home in an hour to get the house ready for our welcome home party.”

A party?!

“Wait—mom, what?!”

“Love you!” Her mother zapped back into the monitor, disappearing in an instant, like she wasn’t even there in the first place.

She wishes this was all a dream.

~

Jungeun had no idea just how popular and influential her parents were. Maybe that’s why they were so desperate to come back to their time, a whole two decades desperate. It made her feel a bit bad, but then she remembered how they made her uproot her life, even though she barely had one.

The guests were filing in and the house seemed bigger with all these people in it. Everyone looked to be around her parent’s age or older, making her lose the little interest she had in mingling. She was ready to retreat back into the bedroom when she felt hands on her shoulders and the sound of glass clinking.

“We would like to make an announcement.”

She had a creeping feeling that her father’s next words were going to address the elephant in the room, and she was right.

“As you all may know, my wife and I were gone for twenty years. In those twenty years, we lived a fine life and had a child.” There were gasps all around and her mother’s grip on her shoulders tightened when a few eyes landed towards them. “We would like you to meet our daughter, Jungeun.”

Unexpected cameras clicked and flashed away at them and all she could do was cower behind her mother. The scattered gasps turned into loud whispers and Jungeun could feel an overwhelming sense wash over her.

The flashing came to a stop after their home robot escorted the paparazzi out. They somehow managed to sneak into the exclusive party, right under their noses.

“We ask for some time to get acclimated before resuming our lives. Thank you.”

There was some applause from a family nearby, a man who looked to be about her father’s age throwing them a thumbs up, and a woman smiling proudly. Jungeun peered over her mother’s shoulder for a better view. There was a girl with them too, but her back was to them.

“Oh, those are your father’s best friends. They got married around the same time as us and also had a daughter!”

The party resumed like normal even after the shocking announcement from her father. The media outlets were surely going to blast this onto the news as soon as they got their hands on the paparazzi pictures.

“Come on, Jungeun. We’d like to introduce you to someone.” Her father steered her towards that same family, the parents greeting each other with handshakes and hugs. She stared curiously at the girl.

“Quit being disrespectful and turn around!” She heard the other mother whisper harshly to the mysterious girl. It worked, seeing as she finally turned around to face them.

Jungeun’s breath caught in her throat.

“This is Kim Hyunjin, your betrothed.”

Her _what?!_

~

“Miss Jungeun, would you like me to walk you to your class?” She shook her head, patting the robot with a small smile. Her nerves were off the charts if she was being honest. A new school in a new time period? It couldn’t get any messier.

She managed to find her way to her first class after going through an obstacle of moving staircases. It was very reminiscent of the Harry Potter movies, but a bit more futuristic. It was weird that they still did in person learning and teaching even after so much evolving.

There were already a few people seated in the large lecture hall. She was sure to come thirty minutes early in case she ran into some trouble along the way. She ventured towards the middle rows, plopping down next to a black haired girl who had her face buried in a textbook.

“You guys still use textbooks?” Jungeun couldn’t help but voice out loud. The girl whipped her head up, eyes widening comically. “And here I was thinking society has progressed past physical books.” She mumbled the last part, but the other girl picked up on it.

“Oh no! This is just from my personal collection. My great grandmother was a librarian.” Jungeun nodded along, fascinated at the fact that being a librarian was a thing of the past. “I’m Heejin. It’s an honor to meet you, Jungeun.”

The space in between her brows crinkled. “How do you know who I am?”

“The news.” Heejin responded like it was obvious, and it was. Jungeun just wanted to forget the previous night ever happened all together. “Was 2020 as crazy as the history lessons make it out to be?”

Just when she thought things were reaching a normal level, her parents threw her another curveball. Jungeun’s mind wandered back to the party, back to the moment she met Hyunjin.

_The second their parents left the two alone, the smile on Hyunjin’s face disappeared. “Just to be clear, I don’t have any intention marrying you.”_

_“Me neither.” Jungeun crossed her arms defensively. She had no idea who this girl was, but it was still a hit to her ego to hear such a rejection. “Why are they setting us up?” This was the first she was hearing of it. Her parents were proving time and time again that they were not who she thought they were._

_“Beats me.” Jungeun narrowed her gaze, giving Hyunjin a once over. She was beautiful, and at first glance she looked soft spoken and sweet. Her first impression could not be any more different. “But it might have to do with my parent’s company.”_

_Jungeun leaned against the wall next to her. “Arranged marriage is still a thing?” Hyunjin nodded, the initial hostility shedding away the more they talked. Jungeun was just glad to finally meet someone her age in this time period._

_“I’m not even the first born.” Her ears perked up at that detail. Jungeun was used to being an only child. She often found herself jealous of others who had siblings to hang out with and talk to when things would get lonely. “My half sister was disowned a few years ago.”_

_“Were you close?”_

_“Very.” Hyunjin’s eyes seemed to lose its glint, the mood suddenly feeling very somber. “My parents don’t allow me to see her.” After a few seconds of not knowing what to say, Jungeun just offers a stiff pat on Hyunjin’s arm. The girl gives her a weird look in return._

_“So, how do we plan on stopping our marriage?”_

Jungeun felt a soft shake and a hand waving in front of her face. “Earth to Jungeun?” She snapped out of her thoughts and hummed. “I asked if 2020 really was that crazy—“

“Oh, it was.” They were only halfway into the year before Jungeun and her family time traveled forward, but within those months it was definitely the craziest year she’s witnessed. From the pandemic to the—

“Really? The zombie outbreak seemed a bit farfetched to me.”

Before Jungeun could question what the hell she was referring to, a familiar figure bounded towards them, sliding into the empty seat next to Heejin. She watched in confusion and disbelief while the two shared a short kiss.

“This is my girlfriend, Hyunjin.”

The beaming smile slid right off of Hyunjin’s face when her eyes landed on Jungeun. The two shared a look which went unnoticed by Heejin. She decided to play dumb and ask about it later. “Nice to meet you.”

“Same.” It was a very stiff, very fake exchange, but it seemed to please the girl sitting in between them.

The teacher walked into the hall and the class bell rang out, a soft type of jingle, signaling the beginning of the lesson. Heejin bent down to fish for something in her bag and Jungeun took the chance to ask Hyunjin what’s up.

“How come you didn’t tell me?”

“She doesn’t know about the arrangement!”

Oh this was bad.

Heejin sat back up and gave the two a huge smile, which the both of them returned uncomfortably. The girl seemed really sweet, a potential friend along with Hyunjin, but this was really going to mess with things.

Another curveball.

After departing from the two lovebirds, Jungeun decided to cross over to the strip. She noticed a quaint coffee shop when she arrived on campus and made a mental note to check it out as soon as she found the time. She waited at the edge of the crosswalk, gazing up at the hovering cars whizzing past her.

The signal turned green and just as she was about to take a step, an old fashioned motorcycle screeched to a halt in front of her. Jungeun watched as the person in the usual motorcyclist get up, leather jacket and dark jeans, took off their helmet. It was almost like slow motion, the girl’s short hair flowing in the wind. Was it even windy today?  
It was the second time someone from the future has caught her breath.

“Can you watch where you’re going?” 

Jungeun crossed her arms, half put off and half intrigued by this mysterious girl. “You first.” The short haired girl scoffed and got off her bike, leaving it parked in the middle of the crosswalk. She came up onto the sidewalk and purposely bumped past her.

Who did she think she was?

She shook her head to get rid of the budding feeling of annoyance. At least she was a total stranger Jungeun wasn’t going to come across again. She reached the coffee shop and settled into the corner seat. 

Finally a time of privacy, some time to herself. Any moment longer and she was definitely going to have a breakdown. She had absolutely no one. Going to her parents with her feelings was not an option, she would feel guilty making them feel bad about everything. It wasn’t something she wanted to do.

At least she seemed to be making friends? If Heejin and Hyunjin could even count. She covered her face with her hands and groaned. Problem after problem, as if she didn’t have to deal with being zapped into a whole new era on top of it.

She took her time drinking the coffee she ordered, a fleeting sense of normalcy before taking off to her second and last class for the day.

~

“How long have you two been together?” It was the weekend and Hyunjin’s parents dropped her off to spend some time with Jungeun. Hanging out was nice, but not in the way their parents expected or wanted.

“A year and a half.”

“So they must know about her then.” Hyunjin turned away as she grimaced, immediately alerting Jungeun. “They don’t?!” This was a never ending mess. She just met these people and somehow, she was already tangled up in everyone’s business.

“They think I broke up with her for you.” That was a line she didn’t need to hear. They were already screwing this up, big time. They needed to figure out a way to end this as quickly and quietly as possible.

Jungeun’s robot was growing on her, it was there for her more than her parents were as of late. But she understands, they have a lot to catch up on at their job. The robot whipped up a quick lunch for the girls, a couple of sandwiches that they scarfed down in seconds.

The two settled down on the living room couch. “So what was it like living in the early 2000s?” Jungeun turned her body to face Hyunjin, bringing her knees up to her chest.

“It doesn’t seem all that different, besides the technology.” She said honestly, but she had barely been here and couldn’t say for sure. A hundred year difference was more than a lot of time. “What is it like living in the early 2100s?” Jungeun teased back, earning a grin from Hyunjin.

If she stopped to think about it, she wouldn’t be _that_ opposed to marrying her, but the world refused to work in their favor. Plus, Hyunjin looked really happy with Heejin from the few moments she saw of them together.

She thought about the girl on the motorcycle. It was always the girls who got under her skin, those types would send a rush through her. Be it extreme irritation or—

“—you’re not even listening to me!” Hyunjin whined with a pout.

“What— Oh! I’m sorry. You were saying?”

“Man, forget it. What were you just thinking about?” Hyunjin copied Jungeun and brought her knees up to her chest, hugging her legs and setting her chin on top. She waited patiently for Jungeun’s response.

She debated if she should divulge such personal thoughts when they have only known each other for a few days, but then she remembered that all of that was thrown out the window the second her parents told her they were basically engaged.

Jungeun waved dismissively, not trying to make it out to be a big deal anyway. “Some hot girl on a motorcycle I ran into the other day.”

Hyunjin blinked once, then twice, frozen in place while Jungeun glanced around the house. Was the world put on pause? She clapped in front of her face but Hyunjin didn’t budge. One last attempt, a shake of the shoulders, finally brought her out of the trance.

“I’m sorry, I thought you said motorcycle.”

Jungeun furrowed her eyebrows. “But I did—“ Her mouth was covered by Hyunjin’s hand. She had her eyes closed and was shaking her head vehemently.

“No. No no no.” She shoved Hyunjin’s hand away, wondering what’s gotten into her to react like this. Did she know this girl or something?

“Why are you wigging out?”

“Jungeun. That’s my sister.”

~

What a small, small world they live in. Or city she should say. The place where she grew up a hundred years ago was the same place she was in now, but with a slight name change. She was taught a brief history lesson from Heejin about it during their shared class.

What were the odds of Jungeun running into Hyunjin’s estranged sister? Better question, what was she doing near their university? _No wonder she was initially attracted to both_...

Hyunjin told her the last she’s seen her was a year ago in passing. They didn’t even get to exchange any words before their parents intervened. Apparently it got very heated and the authorities were called before her sister eventually rode off on her bike. To this day, Hyunjin had no clue what exactly drove her parents off the edge, to have them cut off her sister like that.

The amount of family drama they had made Jungeun’s head spin. She shut her eyes tighter and wished for sleep to engulf her now but the universe was working against her again. A loud slam came from the kitchen, making her curious. She slid out of her bed in her own new room and peaked her head outside the door.

“I just don’t think this is the right thing to do!” Jungeun can hear her mother whisper harshly, her father at the counter rubbing at his forehead. She wondered what they were arguing about so late at night. It was a rare occurrence for her parent’s to have fights.

“There’s nothing we can do, honey.” Her father’s voice sounded strained. Jungeun worries that their job has put them under an immense amount of stress these past couple of days, but what can they possibly be talking about?

She was ready to listen further in on their conversation when her view was suddenly obstructed. “Miss Jungeun. How may I help you?” Not the damn robot! Her cover was blown. Her attempts to shoo it away before her parents realized she was awake were feeble.

“Sweetie, why haven’t you gone to bed yet?” She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to come up with a believable excuse. The robot beep next to her almost as if it was waiting for an answer too.

“I just woke up to get some water.” Jungeun pushed the door wider and stepped out. She watched her father disappear into their room while her mother rounded the corner, approaching her with a concerned stare.

Her robot beeped twice. “That is false.”

“Shut up.”

Her mother gently placed a hand to her forehead, which Jungeun swatted away. “Well, you better get some rest. Tomorrow will be a long day for all of us.” She raised her brows in curiosity.

“And why’s that?” She glided towards the kitchen, grabbing a glass of water like she said she was going to do. She tossed a stink eye over to her robot who stood with it’s head hanging low behind her mother.

“I assumed Hyunjin would have told you? We are having dinner with her family.” Jungeun paused as she brought the cup to her mouth. She watched her mother carefully. There was something off about her demeanor that she couldn’t quite place.

She gulped down the cold glass of water. “Right. Must have slipped my mind.” Her mother nodded and headed off to join her father. Things were definitely getting weird around here. Jungeun was still hoping she’d wake up one morning and have this all be just a dream.

Her robot rolled towards her. She set the cup down and leaned against the counter. “Do we have cellphones in this time period?”

~

Jungeun felt herself being yanked into a room. “Jeez, what was that for?” She rubbed at the collar of her shirt, a frown on her face. Her family had just arrived onto the Kim’s residence. To say it was a mansion was an understatement. She has never seen a house this huge, on top of the expansive land they had surrounding it.

“Sorry.” Hyunjin held her hands up in surrender, walking backwards and falling onto a large bed. “Just needed to get you out before you witness my mother having breakdown number five over the cooks botching dinner.”

Before Jungeun could say anything, a buzzing sound came from the nightstand drawer. Hyunjin leaned back on her arms and hummed, avoiding any eye contact. “What is that?”

“What is what?”

She pointed behind Hyunjin, who picked at an invisible piece of lint on her bed sheet. “That.” She watched as Hyunjin faked a glance at the noise in question. “What are you hiding in the drawer?”

Hyunjin finally gave in, her whole body deflating. “It’s my phone. Heejin’s been calling nonstop.”

“Wait, that reminds me.” Jungeun fished out her brand new phone from her pocket, wiggling it in front of Hyunjin’s face. Her robot had conjured one up after asking about it the night before. From the outside, the designs were similar from her time but the phone was capable of so much more. Jungeun thinks she spent at least an hour alone on holographic video watching.

“Great, are you going to blow my phone up too?” Hyunjin crawled across her bed and opened the drawer, swiftly grabbing her phone and answering the call. Jungeun took the time now to scan the room they were in. A large room in an equally large house. She shifted her focus to the desk in the corner. There were only a few notebooks and loose papers along with a picture frame.

She picked it up and examined the front and back, confused as to why there were no pictures. She tapped on the glass. “Sorry, I’ve just been busy.” Hyunjin appeared next to her, swiping the frame out of her curious hands. “I’ll see you in class!” And with her final words, she hung up the call.

Jungeun followed Hyunjin back to the bed, joining her this time. “What does she think you’re doing?” Her new friend shrugged, pressing some buttons on her phone before shoving it back into the drawer. They both looked down at the empty picture frame.

Hyunjin glanced at the door, checking if it was indeed closed, before waving a hand over the frame. Pixel by pixel a photo appeared. It was Hyunjin, who looked a few years younger, alongside the girl she remembers from the other day with much longer hair. “It’s the last picture we took together before everything fell apart.” Jungeun watched as Hyunjin waved her hand over it a second time, the photo disappearing.

She waited patiently for Hyunjin to continue. “Our parents adored her.” She let out a deep sigh, Jungeun listening intently. “She was my mother’s first child from her first marriage. Sooyoung’s birth father passed away before she was born.”

 _Sooyoung._ The name bounced around in Jungeun’s head. The sisters both shared that pretty gene, she couldn’t help but think.

“My father raised her like she was his own until they had me.” Hyunjin laid back and held the frame to her chest, a lot seemed to be on her mind. Jungeun wonders if she inadvertently opened pandora’s box. “It was never really a problem until we got older. Sooyoung started to act out.”

She wanted to question Hyunjin more, but a knock on the door interrupted them. They were being “summoned” to the dining hall. Walking around the place, Jungeun realizes something; she has no idea what Hyunjin’s parents do exactly.

They reached the table filled with dishes and deserts and Jungeun can’t help her eyes from widening. One of the many butlers they had pulled out a chair for her to sit on, right next to Hyunjin and across her own parents. Hyunjin’s father and mother were on separate ends of the table.

“This looks so good.” She whispered to Hyunjin, eyeing the chocolate cheesecake set up in the middle of the table.

The first half of the hour was spent eating in silence. Jungeun was too busy scarfing down everything in her line of sight to talk anyway, same with Hyunjin. It wasn’t until one of their parents cleared their throat did she take a break from chewing.

“We’d like to make an announcement.” This was feeling a bit eerie, like deja vu. She shared a look with Hyunjin, setting down her utensils to give the elders her attention. It didn’t take much to figure out that Hyunjin’s parents were important people, way more important than her own, and even then she thought her parent’s were big in this time period.

How would it benefit Hyunjin’s family for their daughter to be married off to Jungeun?

“We’ve set the date of the wedding for next month, August twenty-fifth.”

The girls were at a loss for words, and if Jungeun’s eyes weren’t deceiving her, she noticed her mother shifting uncomfortably in her seat. The two dads stood to shake hands, making it official.

Jungeun and Hyunjin now had a month to get the hell out of this.

~

“Are you stalking me?”

Jungeun whipped around to see who the voice belonged to, shock covering her features when she realized who it was. She was on a night stroll with her robot after an intense study session and wanted to get some fresh air. A century’s worth of information was overloading her brain.

The bike came to a stop next to her on the sidewalk, the same as the last time they ran into each other, but she wasn’t wearing a helmet this time around. Jungeun’s robot beeped next to her. “I think I should be asking you that.”

The girl let out a laugh, music to Jungeun’s ears. _Wait, what?_

A beat of awkward silence. “It’s not safe to be out here so late.” The concerned tone in her voice was a complete 180 to the harsh one she witnessed the first day they met. Also, why was she always riding her motorcycle?

Jungeun gestured to the robot. “I have my bodyguard.” Her robot tilted its head as if to question her words. She let out another laugh but it was softer this time.

“Hop on, I’ll take you home.”

She considered her next words carefully, thinking about the position she’s been thrown into recently. “I don’t even know who you are, what if you’re here to kidnap me?”

Suddenly her robot started beeping erratically, the monitor turning red. “Threat engage. Threat engage.” It repeated this as it slowly approached the girl on the bike. Jungeun pushed it back and rolled her eyes.

“Threat disengage!” The robot loosened up and scurried away off into the distance. Jungeun threw her hands up helplessly. “I guess I have no other choice to take up your offer.” Another laugh, something she wanted to keep hearing.

She passed her a spare helmet and buckled it on. It was huge and felt heavy on her head. “What’s your name?”

“Jungeun.” She paused. It was easier for her to pretend like she didn’t know who Sooyoung was. It would raise more questions if she knew, right? Acting dumb it is then. “You?”

“Call me Yves.” She said it so smoothly, like she’s been telling this lie for a while.

She swung her leg over the motorcycle and hesitantly wrapped her arms around the taller girl’s waist. How did it feel this nice and comfortable already when in reality, they were complete strangers?

“Wait, Eve as in Adam and Eve?”

“If I had a dime for every time I’ve heard that joke.” She trailed off with a smirk, revving the engine and jolting forward onto the road. Jungeun blinked. She really wanted to know though.

Oh, Hyunjin was going to kill her.

~

Jungeun felt her shoulders shake. She opened her eyes to people getting up from their seats and packing their bags. “You were asleep the entire time. Fascinating!” She pulled herself up and stretched her arms, licking her dry lips. Her neck was already starting to feel sore.

“How you manage to have an endless amount of energy is beyond me.” They walked out of the lecture hall and out onto the courtyard, their new place to hang out in between classes. Hyunjin was a no show today, but apparently it was a reoccurring thing, _family business_ , Heejin would say.

“It’s called drugs.”

She whipped her head around to stare at Heejin, who looked back innocently. “Whoa, are you serious?”

“No. I’m kidding.”

They reached the bench they claimed as theirs the other day and took a seat. Jungeun wondered just how much Heejin knew exactly when it came to Hyunjin’s family. Did she know about her sister?

_Sooyoung._

The other night with her was a dream, something crazier than time traveling back to the future. She dropped her off at home like she said she would and made up with her robot too, who was waiting at the door for Jungeun. They got off on the wrong foot.

The bike was a one of the last ones from Jungeun’s time which _Yves_ managed to salvage from a junkyard. That’s probably how Hyunjin figured “motorcycle girl” was her sister. They parted with a “see you next time” and that was that.

_God was she dreamy._

“It’s called going to bed on time.” She shoved Jungeun playfully, unknowingly snapping her out of her trance. The two took out some snacks to munch on. “What have you been up to?”

A loaded question. Let’s see: arranged marriage with your girlfriend and having the tiniest crush on your girlfriend’s exiled sister. There was much to unpack here.

“Nothing much really.” She shrugged away her dramatic thoughts. “You?” Heejin sighed deeply, throwing her head back to stare up at the clear, blue sky.

“Busy being ghosted by Hyunjin.”

Jungeun was sucked back into her thoughts. How come she couldn’t live a normal life here? Perhaps even be in a naturally growing relationship with a certain someone she just met? It made her angry and annoyed. The universe _definitely_ had a bone to pick with her.

Not only was she thrown into this ordeal, but Jungeun just had to go and fall for the one person she shouldn’t fall for.

She pondered back to the second run in she had with her. It was right after she had her coffee that day. They crossed paths just as Jungeun was walking back to class. Sooyoung was getting ready to take off before she shouted out an apology. Something about having a bad day? Jungeun accepted it with a cool shrug though, but internally, she was swooning.

 _Weak_ , Jungeun thought.

“I just feel like things have been intensifying with her family.” Oh right, Heejin was still talking. She turned her attention back and nodded along like she had no idea what was going on, when in reality, she had _some_ idea.

Jungeun should say something, right? At least some words of encouragement to reassure Heejin that everything will be fine, but she couldn’t lie. “I’m sure she’ll talk to you when she can.” She offered up a tight lipped smile. This was a recipe for disaster.

~

Two months had gone by and Jungeun was still getting used to the new world around her. The summer semester was long over so she found herself pretty bored at home, figuring she needed to find a hobby or a job at the very least. She remembered the cafe across campus started hiring for the fall season. Perhaps she’ll look into that.

Her ears perked up as she heard knocking on the back door. She was home alone and wasn’t expecting anyone, but only one person would sneak up on her like this. Jungeun rolled her eyes once she slid the door open, revealing exactly who she thought.

“Hyunjin. What are you doing here?”

“I ran away from home!” Record scratch.

The girl slipped past her and made herself comfortable on the couch, as if she didn’t make the biggest mistake ever. “Are you out of your mind? Why would you do that!” Hyunjin shrugged, her nonchalance was starting to get on Jungeun’s nerves. She clenched her fists and took a deep breathe. “What happened?”

“Well, it was a long time coming!” Jungeun facepalmed. Did Hyunjin not realize the severity of this? The power her parents hold? “Relax. It’s not that big of a deal.” Jungeun could only watch in utter disbelief as Hyunjin kicked her feet onto the table in front of her.

She stood and stared hard, to the point where her body was filling with impatience and rage.

Hyunjin frowned. “Can you stop shaking like a chihuahua?” Another facepalm.

It had been a month since their parents called off the wedding. There was a huge fall out between their parents and now hers were paying the price. They would freak if they knew Hyunjin was here, Jungeun might as well be harboring a fugitive.

“You know you can’t stay here.” Hyunjin swung herself up from the couch and approached Jungeun, placing a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. It hardly did anything, if not just irritate her further.

“I know. I’m just here to invite you to Heejin’s lake house.” Her face scrunched up nervously, a sight Jungeun didn’t see often from the usually confident (cocky) girl. “She’s inviting her friends from out of town that I haven’t met yet.”

Jungeun tapped her chin, considering the option. “So, you’re asking me to keep you company?” Hyunjin nodded, eyes pleading and hands clasped together as if to beg. “Fine. I’ll go with.”

She rolled her eyes while Hyunjin fist pumped into the air. It had been a while since she’s seen or heard from Heejin. After school got out, they had promised to hang out during the break, but then Hyunjin broke the news of the arranged marriage. Jungeun knew that it would happen and was still not prepared for it.

Heejin and Jungeun’s friendship and the possibility of it ending that soon admittedly freaked her out. Like she’s repeatedly told herself since coming here, the universe was refusing to let her rest.

Hyunjin mentioned to Jungeun that there were no hard feelings, but why did it feel like there was? “It’ll be okay, Jungeun.” It’s as if she read her mind. She patted her shoulder for reassurance and moved towards the back door. “Now let’s head out before your parents get back!”

~

In all her time here, it finally hits Jungeun that she’s never actually ridden a hover car. She lingers by the sidewalk where Hyunjin had hers haphazardly parked. “Do you even have a license?” The girl swatted away the question, opening the passenger side door for her. The car looked to be modeled after a classic mustang but without wheels. She felt herself being pushed inside after much hesitance.

“We got a long drive ahead of us.” Hyunjin joined her inside and flipped through the 3D monitor displaying a bunch of music albums. Come to think of it, Jungeun had yet to leave the city too. She wondered about how different the beaches or rivers or lakes looked like now. “I’m sure you know this song. It’s from your time.” Jungeun let out a short laugh at Hyunjin’s smirk.

Nayeon’s smooth voice filled the vehicle and Jungeun felt a wave of nostalgia. This album was the most recent one she was present for. “I wouldn’t have thought you were a Once.” Hyunjin gasped, but her gaze stayed glued to the traffic in front of them. She didn’t even realize they were already up in the air.

“Secretly, but the biggest one you’ll ever meet.”

Jungeun watched as the tall buildings whizzed by them, noticing people working in offices on the top levels. The city view faded after half an hour and she was met with the beautiful view of the mountains. Had they always been there?!

“People seem to forget that there’s life outside the city.” Hyunjin mused. “Doesn’t help that the buildings get in the way of the view.” A thought popped across Jungeun’s mind at that. She remembers overhearing yet another mysterious conversation her parents had a while ago.

_“What are we going to do? Now we got Jungeun involved in our mess.” The girl in question immediately hid behind the corner. It was early in the morning and she thought she was the first to be awake._

_“And who’s fault is that? I didn’t want them to be wedded in the first place.” Jungeun could see her father clenching his fist around his coffee mug. “It’s your mess.” Her mother took a moment from cooking breakfast to jab a finger at him._

_She held back from making her presence known just yet._

_He relaxed his shoulders and hands and let out a deep, exhausted sigh. “Let’s just hope they don’t go beyond what they’ve already done.” Jungeun knew he was alluding to what happened at the wedding rehearsal. Something she had yet to fully process herself._

_The frown on her mother’s face deepened. “You know what happens to people who cross them. They own the city.”_

“Didn’t your parents help build the city?” Hyunjin bristled at that, taking her eyes off the sky traffic for the first time the entire ride to glance over at Jungeun. Her expression was unreadable.

“Yes.” She turned back, swerving an oncoming bird, her eyebrows furrowing. “How did you know that?” Jungeun gripped the seat convinced that they weren’t going to make it to the lake house alive. Could she trust Hyunjin with this? She didn’t even trust the girl’s driving right now.

She paused, giving it another thought. “Might have overheard my parent’s talking.”

“Sooyoung left because of that.”

Hyunjin’s words were so vague, but Jungeun could only focus on the name. _Thump thump._ Here we go again.

She hadn’t seen—or heard about her— since the elusive sister dropped her off at home that one night. Jungeun was always wary about bringing her up to Hyunjin, in case it made the other girl feel weird or upset. So she sort of had to forget about her... up until now.

“What do you mean?” The clouds were starting to thicken as they flew into the mountain range. Hyunjin pressed a button to activate the fans placed in front of the car to clear the way.

The view of the bright blue lake in the shape of a star surrounded by snowy mountains was like something out of a movie. It felt too unreal, that at any moment it could all collapse into a volcano with a dangerous amount of lava.

“Ahh, never gets old.” Jungeun caught onto the vibe and realized Hyunjin wasn’t going to elaborate any further. She accepted the fact that the other girl, their entire family, will always have an air of mysteriousness to her. She directed her attention to the lone house at the very edge of the lake. It looked tiny from up here.

“ _That’s_ Heejin’s lake house?!”

“It was her parent’s until they passed it down to her last year.” Jungeun was left wondering what kind of people Heejin’s parents were to have a place like this. It was as if the entire lake belonged to them.

Hyunjin floated the car down, skimming across the beautiful blue water. The water got clearer the closer they got to shore and the house seemed to double in size too once they managed to park nearby. They were greeted by Heejin standing on the porch steps waving them over.

Jungeun held her breathe. Her nerves appeared once they stepped onto the porch. She looked away to prevent feeling invasive as the two girlfriends embraced for a _really_ long time. Was Heejin going to hug her too?

“Long time no see, old friend.”

Jungeun scowled playfully. “Don’t be weird.” She accepted Heejin’s embrace warmly. It felt nice to be all together again, especially after a while. And especially after _that_ mess. Heejin smiled at her, a twinge of awkwardness that only Hyunjin noticed. They hoped that no one would bring up the big fat elephant in the room.

“I’ll give you the grand tour.” Heejin wiggled her eyebrows and gestured for the two to come in. Hyunjin made a beeline for the couch, slumping over it. The drive over must have really worn her out, Jungeun thought fleetingly.

The lake house was spacious with tall ceilings and an open floor plan. There were two narrow spiral staircases on the left and on the right of the living room, both leading up to the second floor. Heejin beckoned her up the stairs, leading her all the way down the hall.

“And here’s my favorite place to sit.” A spacious two person window seat with it outlooking the lake. Jungeun could quite possibly spend the rest of her life living here. She stared out the window for a moment, simmering in the peacefulness. “I’ve been staying here since classes ended.”

Jungeun turned to her as Heejin continued. “Sorry for not reaching out, it feels like a lot has been going on.” She offered a reassuring smile, not knowing what exactly to say back. She was right, there was a lot going on, a lot that was out of their control. Jungeun hoped they can move past this particular and unfortunate _mess_ for lack of better words.

~

The three sat in front of the large 3D projector set up in the living room. Heejin and Hyunjin played a couple rounds of rock paper scissors to figure out what they were going to watch. Jungeun was fine with anything. It was awkward at first, like she was third wheeling, but once they got the movie rolling she forgot about her worries.

The night was approaching and they were onto a second movie, Hyunjin’s pick this time. “Back to the Future? You guys got jokes huh.” Jungeun shook her head, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. She remembers watching this movie back in 2020.

Just as the movie was about to start, the sound of an engine rumbling outside caught their attention. “That must be Jiwoo with her plus one!”

“Plus one? I thought it was just going to be your friends.”  
Heejin shrugged, making her way to the entrance. “It was last minute, she couldn’t find a ride here I guess.”

Jungeun and Hyunjin idly stood by the couch, peering past Heejin as she approached the door, swinging it open. Bickering could be heard coming from the porch.

“It took us _forever_ to get here because you only travel via motorbike!”

“Don’t blame me! You wanted a ride.”

Hyunjin whipped her head towards Jungeun, growing pale at the familiar voice. She widened her eyes back. What were the odds? The unfamiliar girl with bangs engulfed Heejin in a bear hug.

“The others had an emergency at work, but they should be here within the hour. I just wanted to come as soon as possible.” There was a playful bite to her tone, shifting her eyes back to—

“Sooyoung. Is that really you?”

The tension quickly thickened and Jungeun’s eyes darted between the two sisters, her gaze lingering on one of them. Wow, she thought to herself, her hair has grown a bit longer from last time.

_So dreamy._

Jungeun could see the confusion growing on Heejin’s face along with her friend. “Her name is Yves?” The comment went ignored. She wondered just how long Hyunjin’s sister had known this chick, if they were friends or... even maybe more than that. She shook her head. Why was she thinking about this?

 _Wait, did Sooyoung even know about Heejin?_

“Can someone tell me what’s going on?” Heejin finally blurted out. It was dead silent after, besides the movie fading into the background. Jungeun could only watch it all unravel in anticipation. Again, she felt like she was encroaching on a personal moment.

_Did she even recognize Jungeun?_

No one besides Jungeun caught onto the pointed look Sooyoung quickly gave her sister before speaking. “You must be mistaken. My name is Yves.” She threw in for emphasis. The glint in Hyunjin’s eyes disappeared.

“Right, my bad.”

_Things were starting to make no sense at all..._

Heejin’s friend made it over to the three, addressing Jungeun first. She spotted Sooyoung from the corner of her eye turning towards her too, an unreadable expression flashing across her face. “I’m Jiwoo. You must be Jungeun, Hyunjin’s friend.” She grabbed her hand and held it tightly.

She tried her best to not feel intimidated by everyone’s stare, especially— “Yes, it’s nice to meet you.” Jungeun was doing a whole lot of thinking, something she should save for later. Jiwoo moved to the left.

“And you must be Hyunjin. It’s nice to finally be meeting you.”

Hyunjin nodded with a shy smile. “Me too.”  
Heejin beamed at the simple interaction, throwing her arms around the two.

“Now let’s get back to the movie!”

Jungeun could feel Sooyoung’s gaze narrowing on her as they made their way to the couches. She wondered if they would address _that_ elephant.

~

The moment Heejin and Jiwoo disappeared into the kitchen, the sisters faced each other. It was already assumed by then that Jungeun was aware of Sooyoung’s real identity, considering her lack of reaction from the earlier conversation that took place.

It confirmed Jungeun’s suspicions of Heejin having no idea that Hyunjin has a sibling. This was so twisted. How was she ever going to explain that? Jungeun wishes she can stay far, _far_ away from all this drama.

“What the hell was all that about?”

 _"Jeon Heejin?_ I got to say I’m a bit impressed, little sis.”

Hyunjin threw her a menacing glare. They continued to bicker as if she was invisible.

_Maybe Jungeun should have followed the others..._

“And you!” She froze at Sooyoung’s finger pointing in between her eyes. “Did you know who I was that night?” Hyunjin crossed her arms and narrowed her gaze at Jungeun, eyebrows intensely furrowed. _Oops._

“I don’t.. recall?” She checked the kitchen to see if the two friends were looking their way, but they weren’t. Jiwoo was preoccupied with cheering Heejin on while she scooped out some difficult ice cream.

_Wait a second, so Sooyoung does remember her?!_

Hyunjin rolled her eyes and dismissively waved her words off. “Never mind that. I think the more pressing question is, why are you going by Yves?” She scrunched her nose in confusion. Jungeun waited for Sooyoung’s reply too.

But they never got it.

The knock on the door derailed everyone’s attention. “Hyunjin, can you please get that?” Heejin called out sweetly. Sooyoung playfully gagged, dodging her sister’s oncoming slap on the shoulder.

This whole thing felt odd. Maybe if Jungeun was back home she’d be getting ready to sleep after a snack her robot whipped up. She didn’t imagine being thrown into a situation with the three of them all in one place, Heejin’s lake house at that, but she was starting to expect the unexpected at this point.

Hyunjin opened the door, revealing four girls. “No way!” Heejin yelled across the house, her excitement spilling out of her. “You guys actually got Hyejoo to come?!” The girl in question lifted her hand half-heartedly.

The one with faded purple hair spoke up. “She wanted to see if your girlfriend was real and not just one you’ve made up this entire time.” All eyes fell on Hyunjin, who shifted awkwardly. “Hyejoo, you owe me twenty!”

“When Heejin showed us pictures, we were sure you were fake.” The small blonde voiced, receiving giggles and nods of agreement from her friends.

One of them moved to stand in front of Hyunjin, offering her hand. “I’m Jinsoul. That’s Yerim, Chaewon, and Hyejoo.” She pointed towards each girl, who waved in greeting.

 _Heejin sure had a lot of friends,_ Jungeun thought to herself as she watched from the couch. Hyunjin shot her a desperate look, as if she was asking to be saved. Oh, Jungeun was helpless.

She felt a body shift next to her, then a whisper creeping in her ear. “I should’ve realized it sooner.” Jungeun froze, contemplating what that could possibly mean. “You’re the girl from the past.”

That’s it?

Jungeun turned around, not realizing just how close Sooyoung’s face was. She continued. “I guess my question is, how did you end up befriending my sister?” Her eyes flickered down to her lips for a millisecond. Jungeun wasn’t imagining _this_ right?

She snapped out of it. This _so_ wasn’t the time.

“Family friends.” She answered before pulling away. Sooyoung noticed the intentional move, a smirk appearing on her flawless face. Jungeun still felt like she couldn’t breathe.

It was almost like she knew what she was doing to her.

“That’s unfortunate.”

Jungeun tilted her head curiously, but it was probably best if they cut off the conversation right here. She ignored Sooyoung’s playful look and rose up from the couch, walking over to pull Hyunjin away from being interrogated by Heejin’s friends.

It was going to be a long night.

~

“You guys still play Never Have I Ever?” Jungeun whispered to Heejin, who nodded. All nine of them were sitting in a circle with the couches pushed to the side. It was already past midnight, already past the time where one’s mind is thinking clearly.

“Of course we do! It’s timeless.”

They raised their hands and started the game.

Basic question after question, fingers were folding down and they were quickly down to a few. Jungeun scanned the room, thinking of what to ask when it was her turn. Sooyoung sat on the opposite side of the circle. It was her turn right now.

“Never Have I Ever... felt some type of way about someone in this room.”

That was as straightforward as they got, perhaps the juiciest question of the night. She furrowed her eyebrows, debating if she should even bother with this one. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Hyunjin and Heejin cuddling and putting down a finger at the same time, laughing together like it was the funniest thing.

Then one by one, like dominoes, a few of Heejin’s friends put a finger down. Sooyoung winked at Jungeun before putting hers down.

“Great! We’re tied for first!” Jinsoul nudged her side, completely oblivious to the tension surrounding the group of girls. So what, they all had crushes on each other? Sounded like an extra load of drama... but Jungeun wasn’t innocent in that department either.

She folded her finger down after some thought. “Actually...” Everyone’s attention fell on her, Hyunjin in particular perking up. “Now it’s just you.”

Jinsoul’s premature self victory dance was enough of a distraction from Jungeun’s admission. The next person was Hyejoo. She tapped her chin, deep in thought. An evil grin settled on her face. “Never Have I Ever been to a different time period.”

That was it, game over for Jungeun.

Heejin slapped her friends knee. “Come on now, that one isn’t fair.” She gave her an apologetic look even though it wasn’t that big of a deal. Jungeun slumped back onto the base of the couch, cushioning her head with her arms. She was almost relieved that the game was over, she was having a hard time coming up with a question to ask.

“What does the loser get as punishment?”

Jungeun _so_ wishes she was back home, in her warm bed, listening to some calming music to lull her to sleep.

“What are we, twelve? We aren’t going to do punishments.” Heejin coming to the rescue again. She really was an angel. “No, but we _are_ going to have her jump in the lake.”

Pause. Rewind.

The lake?!

~

“The water won’t be _that_ cold, I promise.”

Was Hyunjin kidding? They were surrounded by a snowy mountain range for crying out loud!

It was nearly morning and the sun was starting to peak out from behind the mountain tops. Jungeun wished she had the time to fully appreciate the view before her dramatic jump into the body of water. The group gathered around the deck, Heejin and Hyunjin following her to the edge like she was walking the plank.

“Don’t worry. This is pretty much tradition!” She couldn’t trust Heejin’s reassurances, not after the switch up she pulled on her earlier. Jungeun peered down. The water was clear and looked to be about five feet deep.

_It’ll be like jumping in a pool._

Here goes nothing.

“Wait!”

Everyone whipped around at the sudden interruption. Sooyoung scrambled to strip off her clothes, running over to join Jungeun by her side. She felt a hand wrap around hers, skin tingling at the touch. Jungeun felt chills sprinkling down her neck.

“Ready?”

_She wasn’t._

Jungeun felt a perfectly timed push on her back just as Sooyoung tugged her forward. She didn’t have much time to think of the culprit before she dropped into the water. And with how quickly she hit the water, she rose back up, clearing her face of wet hair and water.

Hyunjin was right, it wasn’t as cold as she previously thought. She waded in the water and looked up, her friend’s sight on her sister. Those two _definitely_ needed to talk some things out. Jumping in was admittedly a nice end, a final wrap up, to this eventful night. Jungeun wonders if she’ll ever see these people again.

She paddled forward, reaching for the hand Heejin was offering from up on the deck. “Amazing, right?” She wrapped a towel around her and helped pat down her shivering body. Jungeun could have stayed in the water longer honestly. She raised her head and locked eyes with Sooyoung.

Jungeun watched as Hyunjin wrapped a towel around her sister, whispering discreetly in her ear about something. Sooyoung’s gaze didn’t falter one bit.

_Thump thump._

~

Jungeun entered through the front door, relieved to finally fall asleep in her own bed. It was the longest night of her entire life and she never stayed up for that long even if it was for studying.

“Where were you?”

She smacked a hand to her chest. “Jeez, you scared me!” Her father was at the counter drinking coffee, newspaper in hand. Would they call her out if she lied? “Umm, I was with a friend.”

He hummed and took a sip out of his mug. “And does this friend have a name?” This type of behavior coming from her father was never present back when they lived in the early 2000s. He was constantly busy rebuilding the pod to take them back, rarely having any time to be with his own child. Her mother was more the concerned parent, the one who watched out for her.

"Jeon Heejin.”

He paused his movements, the cup stopping right before it reached his mouth. He set the newspaper down. “ _Jeon_ Heejin?” It was the second time Jungeun’s heard her friend’s name emphasized like that. She pursed her lips and nodded. “I see.”

There we go again. The people in this time period love to be vague, don’t they?

“Beep beep.” Jungeun’s beloved robot swerved into the kitchen next to her. “What would you like for breakfast, Miss Jungeun?”

“Maybe later, I want to rest.” She retreated to her room before her father could say another word. There was too much running through her mind. She heard beeping the moment she stepped inside her room, remembering that she left her phone at home in the midst of leaving for the lake house.

Jungeun tapped her phone and brought up the unread messages.

**heejin: youre always welcome at the lake house!!!**

She sent a simple heart emoji back in response. Scrolling down a message, she noticed an unfamiliar number that wasn’t saved.

**unknown: want to show you something. meet me outside your house at 10pm.**

This could only be one person. Or so she hoped. How does Jungeun even respond to this? She had so many questions on top of everything else that had been swirling inside her mind the second she stepped out of that pod.

**unknown: btw u kno who this is. i made hyunjin give me your number.**

Jungeun let out a chortle at that. Wow, she must have threatened _something_ for Hyunjin to give in that easily.

She lazily sent a thumbs up emoji and set her phone back down, letting sleep overtake her. In the safety of her dreams, things were different.

~

Jungeun lets her mind wander all the time. She thinks it’s the result of being stunted from going for the things she wants in life. She’s too busy wrapped up in her thoughts to have it play out in real life.

It was obvious, the way she felt whenever she was around Sooyoung. And she knew the other girl could tell. But the burning question was, did Jungeun have the courage to do something about it? Without a doubt, she didn’t.

She was definitely not blind to the fact that Sooyoung felt the same, what with the way she flirts and such, but none of that meant much to Jungeun. If anything it made her feel dumb. Like she couldn’t possibly believe or accept that someone could have an interest in her.

Sooyoung came to a halt at the entrance of what looked like a junkyard. Jungeun hopped off the back of the bike and unbuckled her helmet. “Welcome to my humble abode!”

“A bit too humble if you ask me.”

She shrugged at the offended look Sooyoung threw at her. “I’m going to ignore that.” Jungeun followed her through the piles and piles of car parts and various other articles of trash until they reached a warehouse. “Here’s the fun part.”

Sooyoung pulled up the small garage and gestured for her to enter first. They were standing in complete darkness after she closed it shut. Jungeun could only _feel_ Sooyoung standing next to her.

The girl groaned. “Vivi! I told you to set the lights up!” Jungeun jumped at the shuffling noises heard from where she assumed was across the room. She jumped again at the new voice.

“Oh, that was today? My bad.” It was clear to anyone that this girl did not care. Jungeun resisted the urge to chuckle.

“Yeojin! I told you to make sure that she sets up the lights.”

A new voice popped up. “Sorry, the number you have dialed is not available at this time.”

Then it finally hit her. What were these people doing in the dark?

Jungeun stood absolutely still when she felt the presence next to her disappear, then her attention was jolted when she heard a doorknob jiggle. “Apologies. My friend’s are real jokesters.” It was said in a way that makes it seem like Sooyoung’s dealt with their shenanigans more than once.

After a few seconds of struggle, she heard the door click open and light pouring in what Jungeun can finally see was a small office they were standing in. She stepped through the doorway, following after Sooyoung, and was met with the most unexpected sight.

Not two, but three unfamiliar faces were lounging around a spacious living room. They had a projector playing a movie on an empty wall, Ice Age. The second movie to be exact.

Sooyoung pointedly cleared her throat. “Ahem. I have a guest.” Jungeun scratched the back of her neck, not prepared for the sudden attention she was getting. They all gave her a friendly wave accompanied by a knowing smile.

“Wow, you actually convinced her to come over?” The small one voiced, immediately shutting up when Sooyoung takes a threatening step in her direction. She recognized that distinct voice as Yeojin’s.

“Care to join us?” The short haired girl spoke, throwing a protective arm around the smaller one. Jungeun thought the two could pass as sisters. They looked up at the two expectantly.

Sooyoung glanced at Jungeun, something unreadable passing through her facial expression. “Sure, why not.” She didn’t miss the hint of disappointment in her tone. Jungeun moved to sit on the unoccupied couch, Sooyoung joining her soon after.

Jungeun let her eyes wander off the movie. This place didn’t look like a warehouse at all, it looked like a real house. How long has Sooyoung been living here? How did she meet these people? The questions just seem to be never ending.

She felt a nudge draw her attention back. “I change my mind. Want to go to my room?” The question felt incredibly suggestive, but the innocent look on Sooyoung’s face proved otherwise. She couldn’t help but nod.

Jungeun was led up the stairway and into a narrow hall. They stopped at the second door on the right. “Excuse the mess.” She walked in and there was no mess at all. The room was quite literally spotless, nothing besides a bed and an empty desk with a picture frame similar to what Hyunjin had in her room.

“You like to joke, don’t you?”

Sooyoung shrugged, a smug smirk making its way on her face as she took a seat on the edge of the bed. Jungeun awkwardly lingered by the door. “So what’s the deal between you and my sister?”

Right off the bat... alright.

“What do you mean?” She shifted her weight and leaned on the door frame. “She’s with Heejin, if that wasn’t apparent from last night.”

“I know.” Jungeun furrowed her brows in confusion. Sooyoung’s curious gaze wasn’t letting up. “That still wouldn’t stop my parents from trying something with the two of you.”

She took a step forward, an unexplainable feeling rushing to her chest. “What do you possibly mean by that?” The feeling intensified after Sooyoung dismissively waved her question away.

“I’ve been there, trust me. You don’t think they’ve tried all the things they’ve done to her to me?”

“The way Hyunjin talks about you makes it seem like you left before everything hit the fan.”

The older girl scoffed, but it wasn’t out of anger or bitterness. “Bless her, but she didn’t know the half of it.” Jungeun noticed the way Sooyoung’s gaze faded into a blank stare. “I wish I took her with me. I tried, but my parents...”

Jungeun suddenly remembered Hyunjin’s words on the ride over to the lake house. “She said you left because of your parent’s ties to the city.” Sooyoung’s bristled movement was very minuscule, but her eyes darkened at the comment.

She hummed, leaning back on her arms. “Maybe she does know a thing or two.” Jungeun wanted her questions answered badly, but like all the other times, this felt like the right time to end the topic.

“So how did you meet those three out there?”

Sooyoung met her eyes, a small smile appearing on her face. “It’s a long story.”

~

Her sleeping schedule was completely ruined, but for some odd reason, she didn’t feel all too off balance. She hopped off the motorcycle and passed the helmet over. The sun was rising in the distance and she knew her robot was probably waiting behind the front door.

“I had a good time.”

_Same._

“Not sure if I did.” Jungeun made sure her smirk showed that she was kidding. Silence fell on the two, the sounds of birds chirping filling the awkward air around them.

“We should do it again sometime-“

“I better get going-“

They both laugh, but hers is nervous. The voice in Jungeun’s head rings clear.

_Things aren’t meant to last forever._

It’s not necessary, at all, but she does it anyway. Maybe to calm her mind down. She reaches out her hand. “Friends?” It’s just one word, but it burned in her throat. She ignored the flicker of disappointment in Sooyoung’s gaze.

Her hand felt heavy, the seconds passing by so agonizingly slow, until she felt it being grasped.

_Thump thump._

“Friends.”

~

“You show up to my house a lot for someone who’s supposedly on the run.”

Hyunjin reached a hand to her neck, an embarrassed look on her face. “Yeah, about that...”

Jungeun deadpanned. “You’re back home aren’t you.” With the way Hyunjin avoided her stare, she knew something else was up.

“The wedding is back on.”

Her whole body froze up. She felt like she was seconds away from shriveling up and evaporating into thin air. It was probably better that way. “Come again?” She managed to croak out.

She’s been seeing her parents less and less these past couple of weeks, they seemed to be preoccupied with some new project.

“Jungeun, they told me that I’m not allowed to see Heejin ever again.” The tears threatening to fall from Hyunjin’s eyes made it feel all the more real to her. This was the first time she’s seen the girl so vulnerable, so _broken_. 

And Jungeun decided it was one of the worst moments she’s ever had to witness in her life. The other moment being..

_Friends?_

_Friends._

She whirled around the room in search of her robot, who she spotted in an instant. “Pack a bag for me.” She turned back to Hyunjin, laying a hand on her shoulder for comfort just like the girl has done for her. “We’re getting out of here.”

~

Hyunjin let the hover car idle by the front porch of the lake house while Jungeun jumped out. Without a knock, she barged in through the front door. She scanned the room, Heejin nowhere in sight until she spotted a tissue being thrown onto the ground from the couches.

Jungeun rushed over and noticed the girl wearing see through headphones, yet another fascinating piece of technology she’s wanted to try out. She shook the random thought away at the sight of her friend buried in used tissues. Heejin’s face was red with tears.

“Get up. We’re leaving.”

She made no move, letting out a wail instead. Jungeun almost growled in frustration. She reached forward to tug her up, the head set falling onto the couch. “Hyunjin’s in the car. We’re getting out of here, the lake house is compromised.”

The girl stumbled forward, a strong scent wafting up to Jungeun’s nose. Oh brother.

“ _Compromised?_ ” Heejin boops her on the nose annoyingly. “I think you’ve been watching too many spy movies.”

She rolled her eyes at the drunken comment and threw Heejin’s arm around her shoulders, wrapping a supportive arm around her waist to help walk her out.

They made it to the car and Jungeun heaved her body into the back seat. Heejin was well on her way to a deep nap and a killer headache.

“Is she..?”

“Yes.”

Hyunjin sighed, turning her body to face Jungeun. “Where to now? My parent’s have eyes everywhere.”

Jungeun took out her phone and scrolled through, her finger hesitating over the contact number. It was their only shot.

“Not everywhere.”

~

Jungeun and Sooyoung stood by the entryway, watching Hyunjin tuck Heejin into Sooyoung’s bed.

“I’m sorry to just drop in like this.” She let out a deep sigh, rethinking the choices she’s made in the past couple hours. Was running away the right thing to do? Was there another way to deal with this? “We— They had nowhere else to go.” Sooyoung quirked a brow at her slip up, but didn’t mention it.

She offered a comforting smile. “They won’t find us here, I’ll make sure of it.” Jungeun didn’t know what she meant by that, but she wasn’t going to overthink it. She had other things to worry about. Her gaze landed back on the girls inside the room.

Deep down Jungeun craved that, the type of relationship her friends shared. One that looked like forever. One that looked like it could stand the test of time.

Her breath hitched when she felt a hand sliding into her own.

 _Thump thump._

Jungeun’s eyes trailed up the length of Sooyoung’s arm and landed on her sharp jaw, her sight lingering dangerously long on her lips. But before she could start dreaming about how it’d feel like to kiss her lips, Hyunjin walked right in between them. Clearly on purpose.

“Are you guys serious?!” Hyunjin whispered harshly, being careful not to wake Heejin. Like a scolded puppy, Jungeun scooted away. There was never going to be a right time for them. “I have to think about how to explain everything to Heejin once she’s awake.”

Sooyoung gave her a sympathetic look, which Hyunjin countered with a scowl, then she turned to point accusingly at Jungeun. “You need to come up with a plan for when they eventually find us.”

Jungeun watched as Sooyoung stood in front of her, softly pushing Hyunjin backwards. “Hey, cool down. We got it under control.” The younger sister scoffed, shaking her head in an attempt to get rid of her frustrations. She brought her head back up, her dark eyes darting between the two.

“You guys will never work.”

Hyunjin shoved her way past them and bounded down the hall. Jungeun surged forward to chase after her, but she felt a grip on her wrist. “Let me.” She watched as Sooyoung followed after her sister.

_She wasn’t wrong._

~

“Wait up!” Hyunjin felt a grip on her shoulder, successfully turning her around. She covered her face with her hands, she was so sick of everything. So tired, so exhausted. She felt arms wrap around her. Having no energy to fight back anymore, she melted in her sister’s embrace. “Everything’s going to be alright.”

“No, it isn’t.” She whined stubbornly. Her sister’s words always came as a comfort when they were younger, but things were _very_ different now. “Sooyoung. They’ve gotten scarier with each passing year.” She felt the hug tighten.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to help.” Hyunjin could hear the guilt in her voice, but what was there to blame? At least one of them got out. And they were together now. “I’m not leaving your side ever again, alright?”

They pulled apart, Hyunjin collecting herself. Being upset was wearing her down, she was rarely like this. “What are we going to do?” Her voice came out as a whisper, afraid of the answer almost. She watched her older sister ponder. They were going to need several different plans, but she trusted her the most.

“It’s time we throw them in prison, Hyunjin.”

~

Two weeks, two weeks of sirens sounding in the city in search of the three girls. Three daughters of high class parents. Two weeks of avoiding Sooyoung. The sirens were getting closer and closer.

“Haseul, I think it’s time to put up the invisibility cloak.”

“Like.. Harry Potter?” Jungeun shrunk under everyone’s glare. “No..? Okay.”

“You sure? It’ll only last a couple days.”

“That’s enough to throw them off when they search the area.”

Hyunjin got up from the couch and clasped her hands. “In the meantime, Jungeun and I are going to find a more _permanent_ solution.” She gave her a pointed stare. “We’ll be heading out once the cloaking wears off.”

“I’m coming with.” Sooyoung says with finality, like no amount of arguing will change her mind.

“Me too!” Heejin piped up from couch. Yeojin shook her head.

“Girl...”

“No.” The rest of them said simultaneously, shutting her down before she can say more. She slumped on the couch pillow defeatedly.

This plan better work.

~

Of course the plan wasn’t going to work. The moment they realized they had a stowaway in the car (Heejin) it was already too late to drive back. Jungeun looked up at the night sky. Was she destined for all of this? All of this... mess?

They were in the heart of the city, surrounded by the buildings all their parents shared in common. Jungeun was past asking questions, it didn’t matter to her anymore. She knew what she needed to know. That they needed to escape their parents.

“We told you to stay behind!” Hyunjin slammed the hover car door, making them all grimacing at the loud sound. The city was a bit too quiet tonight, why weren’t they sounding the alarms?

Heejin crossed her arms and pouted. “I’m not going to be anywhere if you aren’t there with me.” Hyunjin groaned, offering up a hand to help her out of the car anyway.

“Whipped!” Sooyoung disguised as a cough, earning a cackle from Jungeun. The two shared a look.

_Thump thump._

Was it wrong for her to wish for more?

The four of them rushed into the biggest building, where Jungeun’s parents worked. It was the biggest building in the city, a well known government building. Their hope?

Jungeun glanced to her side, watching the wind flow through Sooyoung’s mid-length hair. It felt very reminiscent of their first run in, which felt like ages ago now. Was that moment _destiny_ as well?

Their hope was to survive by the end of it all.

She internally rolled her eyes, chuckling to herself. Who was she kidding? They were just going in to steal some handy dandy tech and weapons to use against Hyunjin and Sooyoung’s parents.

They crawled past the disappointingly lax security guard eating a bag of chips and made their way to the stairwell. Jungeun had no idea which floor to head to, but Hyunjin seemed to know a fair amount.

“My dad worked here before your parents came back to the future.”

Hyunjin stopped on the fifth floor. She held up her hand to still them, pressing an ear to the door. They watched as her eyebrows deeply furrowed. “There’s people here.”

Yeah, there was no way in hell their plan was going to work.

They gaped in horror as Heejin pushed the door open, revealing herself instantly to the guards on the floor, but they made no move to apprehend her.

“Miss _Jeon?_ ”

There it was again, the emphasis on her last name. Maybe Jungeun _was_ a bit curious. She turned to the sisters, who both shrugged.

Heejin held herself with such authority it shocked her.

“What is happening behind those doors that they have all of you guarding this floor?” Hyunjin snickered behind her hand as the large men cowered under Heejin’s glare.

One of them, a smaller man, spilled everything. They were debuting a new project, a bigger and better time pod, one that has zero room for flaws. This was the project her parents had been working on all month it seems like. He squeaked when Heejin thanked him.

She beckoned the others to come out from behind the stairwell door. None of the guards made a sound nor did their sights falter at the presence of three new girls. What kind of power did Heejin hold over them exactly? Jungeun kind of didn’t want to know.

“Let us in.”

They obeyed her command and swiftly opened the double doors with no complaint or argument. It open up to a long and dark hallway. The second all of them were across the threshold, the doors closed on them.

“Holy shit, that was so cool!” Hyunjin squealed, pride dripping from her monsterous grin. “How were you able to do all that?!”

Heejin opened her mouth to answer her girlfriend, but was interrupted by a loud slam coming from the end of the corridor. They could hear recognizable voices the closer they creeped inside. Jungeun shared a knowing look with Hyunjin, equal amounts of concern etched on their faces.

“Oh crap.” The two heard Heejin mumble. Jungeun whipped her head around, Sooyoung wasn’t with them anymore. Without thinking, she rushed into the room.

“They’re out of their minds!”

Their entire half baked plan was out the window. Hyunjin and Heejin could only watch in horror and listen as the voices came to a stop. It went silent for a full minute, maybe even five. The anticipation was destroying her.

She lurched forward from behind the corner they were hiding behind. “We got to get to them!” She felt Heejin hold her back.

“Just wait a bit longer!”

Worry coursed through her veins. It was definitely not the best time for a mini family reunion. They heard another loud slam. Hyunjin broke through her grasp and stumbled into the room, Heejin following right behind her.

“Oh, we got all the girls here!”

Sooyoung sent them a death glare from her position. Hyunjin noticed her parents lounging in massage chairs while Jungeun’s parents worked away on the large machine. Her parents never allowed her anywhere near a time pod.

She managed to sneak a glance at Jungeun, noticing an unreadable expression plastered on her face along with clenched fists by her sides.

“Come to see the show?” Hyunjin heard her mother’s voice say. The older lady had her legs propped up, a drink in hand. She was truly despicable.

Hyunjin gauged her parents reaction on seeing Sooyoung, but they didn’t seem to care at all. An unsettling feeling came to sit in the pit of her stomach. Something wasn’t right.

Jungeun studied her parent’s movements, specifically her mother’s. She looked rigid, like she was being forced to do this work. She quickly caught her attention. Her mother widened her eyes for a millisecond, but it was enough time for Jungeun to have confirmation that she was under duress.

“It’s great to see you, daughter.” Sooyoung growled at her father. He was helpless and totally submissive under their mother’s reign. Absolutely no backbone.

“We are preparing to embark on a time adventure.”

“So you guys are running away? After everything you’ve done?” Hyunjin stared at her sister, still so curious after all these years. “You two deserve to be in prison.” Their mocking laughter made her clench her fists harder, her knuckles turning white.

Hyunjin slid her way over, placing a hand over her fist. “It’s wonderful seeing our daughters together again.” Jungeun cringed, their parents might as well have just spat at them at this rate. Her gaze jumped to her own father, who let a couple tools drop to the floor while the others were distracted. His nod towards her was barely noticeable.

She closed her foot over the small screwdriver. Thanks dad, she thought, this could do _quite_ the damage!

Her mother seemed to have different plans.

The lights in the lab flickered while electricity coursed through the lines, zapping away at the time machine. In the split second of darkness, Jungeun felt a controller being placed in her hand.

“Go home.”

It happened all too fast and not too fast at the same time. She grabbed Heejin’s hand and ran forward through the tables, throwing her into the pod first. Jungeun whirled around to see her parents on the ground, Hyunjin’s parents hovering over them before they realized their own daughters were making a break for the machine.

Sooyoung pushed her younger sister into Jungeun, the both of them toppling into the pod before the older girl slammed it shut.

She could see it all. Through the small glass window she was once staring out of a long while back.

_Thump thump._

_Thump thump._

“Go!”

Jungeun closed her eyes shut, willing her tears away for just one more second. Just one second longer. She opened them back up, staring deep into Sooyoung’s eyes before the guards rushed in.

_Click._

~

It was sort of like deja vu, except it wasn’t. This all actually happened once upon a time. Jungeun leaned back on her arms, feeling the cold grass underneath her as she looked up at the sky. Birds chirped more in 2020.

But the year was coming to an end.

It felt strange to be back. There was a time where she would have preferred to be here than over there.

Hyunjin and Heejin were like sponges, absorbing everything they read or watched, beyond excited to explore the new time period.

It didn’t feel like home anymore.

The first few weeks were rough, Hyunjin was inconsolable for days and Jungeun was just an empty shell. Heejin tried her best to cheer them up.

It’s not like they knew anything for sure, if her parents were alright.

If _Sooyoung_ was alright.

Jungeun heard an incessant beeping coming from the tool shed. The girls managed to lug the huge machine into the shed to not draw attention from nosy neighbors. All of which seem to think her parents have gone on some extensive vacation trip. If only they knew the full story.

She pulled the heavy door aside, eyeing the pod curiously. There was a green blinker right below the tiny window. Jungeun checked behind her to see if anyone was around. Hyunjin and Heejin were probably asleep on the couch after yet another Harry Potter rerun.

Her finger hovered over the blinker, wondering if it was a button of some sort. It wasn’t.

The light beamed up into a small projection of a person. One _very_ familiar person.

_“Hello? Is this thing on?”_

Jungeun could not believe her eyes. Her ears. Everything.

“Haseul?” She was breathless. How could this be?

 _“Reporting live from 2120!”_ The projection glitched. _“Yeojin! Can’t you get off the wifi for at least one more minute?!”_

“Guys! Get over here!” Jungeun yelled over her shoulder, hoping she wasn’t being too loud, but loud enough to catch their attention.

“What’s the hurry?” Hyunjin walked out the back door, scratching her head. Heejin barely had her eyes open, patting down her unruly hair. Yup, sleeping. Just as Jungeun suspected.

She stepped to the side to reveal holographic Haseul. “Holy shit.” Hyunjin rushed forward, looking at it from all angles. “Haseul?!”

_“In the flesh.”_

Heejin chuckled. “Well, I mean—“

“What’s happening? How are you communicating with us?” Jungeun narrowed her gaze, she knew what was coming next. “How’s Sooyoung?” Hyunjin’s voice was hopeful. Jungeun looked away.

_“I don’t have much time! But if you punch in this code on the pod, it will bring you guys back!”_

Back?

To the future?

“Then what are we waiting for?!” Hyunjin grabbed Jungeun and Heejin and tugged them into the cramped shed, punching in the short code Haseul just gave them.

“Haseul! Is it safe?”

The projection glitched again, muffling Haseul’s answer before it disappeared. The machine crackled to life and started to rumble, shaking the small tool shed.

“We better get in.” Hyunjin could see the hesitance in Jungeun’s eyes. “Come on, it’ll be alright.” She couldn’t help but feel suspicious, but she joined the two in the pod anyway.

It was time to go home.

~

The first thing Jungeun saw was Haseul high fiving Vivi. Their pod landed in the warehouse.

“You did it again, Vivi! That excellent big brain of yours!” Haseul was practically bouncing off the walls. Yeojin appeared next to them, closely examining them with a magnifying glass.

Jungeun slipped away and made a fast approach over to the older girls. “What’s going on?” She dropped her voice to a whisper, not wanting to alert Hyunjin. “Is Sooyoung alright?”

The name almost sounded foreign coming out of her mouth.

Their looks turned grim.

_Thump thump._

_Thump thump._

~

Jungeun leaned against the tree conveniently placed next to the tombstone.

**Beloved daughter**

She scowled at that. 

**Beloved sister**

**Ha Sooyoung**

After finding out her parents were okay and recuperating at home, and that the Kim’s were in prison, she made her way over to the graveyard. It was night time. She wishes she came earlier with Hyunjin and the others.

She stared down at the stone.

_Thump thump._

_Thump thump._

The sound felt hollow.

She stared harder, wishing for the letters to rearrange into someone she didn’t know, someone she didn’t feel a connection to.

What was the point in coming back if she wasn’t here anymore? Was this time period truly her “home” now?

The few memories they had together flashed across her, playing out like a home video.

_Things aren’t meant to last forever._

She froze at the sound of a twig breaking. She really shouldn’t have come alone. Jungeun took another long look at the stone.

“I mean, they could’ve put a prettier design.”

Jungeun’s jaw dropped, slowly turning around to face the owner of the voice.

“Did you really think it’d be that easy to get rid of me?”

~

“I can _confirm_ that there was, in fact, _no_ zombie outbreak in 2020!” Heejin earned a few laughs, one including Hyunjin of course.

They were back at the warehouse, everyone including Sooyoung.

Turns out they had to fake her death in order to avoid her parent’s underlings. And for all they know, Hyunjin and Heejin are still in another time period since they rerouted the pod to land in the warehouse.

Jungeun observed the city view from the roof. The past months were a rollercoaster she definitely wasn’t expecting. She still had so many questions, ones that were probably better unanswered. But even after every ridiculous thing that was thrown her way, she got something out of it.

“You’re missing Heejin’s jokes about 2020.”

Jungeun glanced to her side, a shy smile emerging on her face. Sooyoung always looked so dreamy.

_Thump thump._

“Trust me, I don’t need to hear any.”

A comfortable silence surrounded them.

_Things aren’t meant to last forever._

Jungeun turned her body to face Sooyoung, who was busy staring out into the night sky.

_Thump thump._

“Sooyoung?”

Things were nowhere near perfect, nowhere near forever, but she knew when things felt right.

“Yeah?”

Their lips met in a soft kiss.

Sooyoung pulled away with a wide grin, a deep red blush covering Jungeun’s cheeks. “I’ve been dying to do that for months.”

“Really now?” The older girl nodded, leaning back in, but Jungeun jolted her head back. “I’m sure I have you beat on that.”

She shook her head, wrapping her arms around Jungeun’s waist to pull her in. “Kiss me again.”

Jungeun playfully tapped her chin. “Only if you tell me why you call yourself Yves.” Her lips twisted up at the name. Sooyoung let out a hearty laugh, the sound carrying throughout the junkyard.

_Music to Jungeun’s ears._

“Deal.”


	2. end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thought it was over?

Sooyoung spun around in her chair, passing the time by throwing crumpled up pieces of paper at Vivi’s head.

“Question. Do you have a life?” The older girl finally turned around after enduring the bothersome act for a total of five minutes.

“I’m bored! Hyunjin doesn’t get back until tomorrow.”

Vivi pushed away from her desk and wheeled towards Sooyoung. She placed a hammer in her hand. “Then make yourself useful. I need you to flatten some thick pieces of metal for me.”

Haseul usually helped her with their projects, but it was just the two of them at the warehouse. Everyone suddenly had somewhere they needed to be, even Yeojin, who rarely left the place. She was always confined to her room, playing games and talking into her old fashioned headset and doing whatever else.

“What are we working on?”

“A shield.” Vivi carried out a large box from under the desk. It was filled with junk metal. “I’m going to be fusing it with some of the new stuff from over there.” She nodded over her shoulder.

Sooyoung scrunched her eyebrows. “A shield? Why?”

“To sell? Who knows.”

“Well, what if I want to use it?”

“Just shut up and get to work.”

Sooyoung spaced out the moment she started banging the hammer against metal. She let her mind wander as she continued the dull task.

The warehouse expansion for three new rooms took them a bit longer than planned after having quite a few setbacks, so in the meantime, they had to share rooms.

She thinks about how much time has passed since her parents were thrown into a maximum security facility out of town. A whole year.

“Hey, don’t you have an anniversary coming up?” It was freaky how Vivi seemed to read her mind. _Why yes, she does._ “Seems like it was just yesterday when you two were _just friends._ ”

Sooyoung clicked her tongue in disapproval at the obvious tease. “Oh yeah? And how about you and Haseul?”

Vivi held up a hammer double the size of hers and pointed it in her direction. “Mind your business.”

Sooyoung was screwed. What was she getting Jungeun for their one year anniversary? What were they going to do that day? She desperately needed Hyunjin’s advice.

But she wasn’t going to be back until tomorrow.

“Do you think they’re going to be okay?” Sooyoung asked after a while. Vivi paused her hand movements, squinting her eye in deep thought.

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t they be?”

Three daughters of high profile figures making a trip downtown after everything that has happened this past year, what could _possibly_ go wrong?

~

Sooyoung threw herself onto her neatly made bed and breathed in. Every morning, like clockwork, Jungeun would wake up at eight and make the bed before heading down to cook up some breakfast with the help of Hyunjin every now and then.

Her previously empty desk was littered with random sticky note reminders and love letters from Jungeun she’s compiled over time. Hyunjin called them cheesy, but she was _definitely_ not one to talk.

There was nothing better than being reunited with her sister, something she’s wished for ever since she left. Now they truly only had each other. Sooyoung was never going to leave Hyunjin’s side now.

The house was going to be quiet tonight.

She swung off the bed and grabbed the nightstand, moving it away from the wall. She eyed the loose floorboard. It had been a while, considering the amount of dust collected. Sooyoung kneeled down and uprooted the panel, revealing a small wooden box with the label reading _Yves_.

The box clicked open and Sooyoung was hit with a wave of nostalgia. She kept her most precious pictures in here along with some rare trinkets she’s found around the junkyard. Oh, and some—

“Is that what I think it is?”

Sooyoung fumbled with the box, closing it shut at the suddenness of Vivi’s voice by the open doorway. _Damn, she should’ve locked the door._ “Um, no?” She wasn’t so convincing.

The older girl invited herself in and plopped onto the bed. “Do you want to pop a few so the time goes by faster?” Sooyoung couldn’t figure out if she was joking or not, but she shook her head anyway.

“These are _not_ to be consumed. Purely kept as memorabilia.”

Vivi tilted her head curiously, but didn’t question Sooyoung any further. It was obvious that she wasn’t supposed to see all that. “Wanna watch a movie downstairs?”

Sooyoung nodded, fingers tapping impatiently on the box. “I’ll meet you in five.” She watched the older girl slip back out of the room, listening for her footsteps to fade down the hall before reopening the box.

She sifted through the old photos and finally came across the one she was looking for. It was black and white, a polaroid. The picture itself was grainy, but the faces were unmistakable.

An exhale left her mouth.

Sooyoung shoved everything back into the box, placing it back under the floorboard, the image burning in her mind. She had no idea what to think of it.

Her parents never admitted it, but they had an unspoken rivalry, an enemy. The original founding family. The reason her parents finally kicked her to the curb. Hyunjin, or anyone else for that matter, hardly knew a thing about it.

And she was going to keep it that way.

~

“Hello? We made it back in one piece!” Sooyoung shook awake from her deep slumber. She must have knocked out on the couch after the fifth movie Vivi insisted on playing.

A head popped up above her, immediately leaning down for a kiss. She couldn’t stop her sleepy grin from growing. “Welcome back.” She sat up, looking past Jungeun in search of her sister. “Where are the others?”

The younger girl glanced over her shoulder. “I think Hyunjin said something about waiting in the junkyard for Yeojin.” Sooyoung was halfway across the room before Jungeun could finish her sentence.

She stepped outside, the unusual heat beating down on her, and spotted her sister with Heejin. Her body relaxed a bit at the sight, knowing everyone was back to safety. The girls waved as she approached them.

“How much do you want to bet that she didn’t think we’d make it back?” Hyunjin nudged Heejin, both laughing at the joke while Sooyoung scowled playfully.

She clasped her hands and cleared her throat, catching their attention. “I need your guy’s help with my anniversary.” Hyunjin slid off the hood of the beat up car she was sitting on, a smirk on her face.

“Like the good sister that I am,” a wink, “I’m one step ahead of you.” Hyunjin gestured for her sister to follow her down the pathway and led her to what looked like a car with a tarp thrown over it.

Sooyoung eyed her sister. “You didn’t.”

Hyunjin’s eyes sparkled. “But I did.” She ripped the cover off, revealing a dark blue hover car, a freshly remodeled convertible. “No need to thank me.” She joked with her hands up.

“Right, because we _all_ had a part in fixing this car up.” Heejin chimed in, giving Hyunjin a pointed look. “Haseul installed the prototype cloaking device so you guys can take it around undetected.”

“Unlike your motorcycle.”

Sooyoung ignored her little sister, focusing on the wave of gratefulness she felt instead. “Wow, I don’t know what to say.” She felt a hand on her shoulder, locking eyes with Heejin and her comforting smile.

“You guys deserve it. Happy anniversary.”

“Yeah, what she said.” Hyunjin smiled teasingly before she was tugged away by Heejin.

She stared at the beauty. They really cleaned it up well, but Sooyoung expected nothing less from them. A bunch of ideas on where to take Jungeun flooded her mind, finally landing on a place.

~

“When can I take this blindfold off?”

“Why?” Sooyoung smirked to herself. “You liked wearing it those other times.” She dodged a slap coming her way, nearly swerving the car into a thick cloud.

Jungeun’s face was a deep shade of red. “Shut up. You better tell me where we’re going _right now_ or else.”

“Or else _what?_ ” Sooyoung momentarily tore her gaze off the airway to glance at her girlfriend. She still couldn’t believe it sometimes, that Jungeun was hers.

She wasn’t going to let anything or _anyone_ ruin what they have.

The younger girl tapped her chin. “No kisses for an entire week!” Sooyoung opened her mouth to protest, but caved in at the sight of Jungeun’s left eyebrow lifting up, surely giving her a pointed look under the blindfold.

After ten minutes, the car drifted down carefully. Before Sooyoung could open the car door, Jungeun ripped the blindfold off, beating her to it. The gasp she emitted at the view made up for it though.

The sand felt warm under her bare feet, staring out in awe at the endless desert. This was arguably one of Sooyoung’s favorite places outside of the city. She laid out a blanket on the ground and set up a small picnic. The sun was setting in the horizon.

“And I thought Heejin’s lake house was the prettiest view.”

Sooyoung finished munching on her mac and cheese, giggling at Jungeun slurping up her spaghetti noodles. The sun had set and the cool breeze around them was picking up. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind Jungeun’s ear.

“How was the trip to the city?”

She finished chewing and set her bowl down, thinking about what to mention first. “I got to check in on my parents. They seem to be doing better in the lab.” Sooyoung could tell she was holding back, but she didn’t pry. She could probably just ask Hyunjin about it sometime later.

It was their anniversary.

The box in her pocket felt heavy all of a sudden. She took it out before she could chicken out.

“What’s that?” Jungeun pointed at the small box in Sooyoung’s hand, nervousness lacing her voice. “If that’s a—“ She quickly opened the box, cutting her off.

It was a futuristic device Jungeun obviously wasn’t familiar with by the confused look on her face.

“This was the last gift my parent’s gave me before things started to get rough.” Sooyoung swallowed the lump forming in her throat. The memory was bittersweet, but she hoped to change that by offering it as a present.

She opened the device. “Oh, so it’s sort of like a locket?”

“A what?”

“A locket.” Now Sooyoung was confused. “Nevermind.” Jungeun waved dismissively, giving up.

She pressed her finger on the circular screen activating it. Holographic pictures and videos of them popped up with every swipe of Sooyoung’s hand. “I filled it with every single memory we have caught on camera.”

Jungeun chuckled at the clip of her attempting to ride Sooyoung’s motorcycle, which Hyunjin recorded. It didn’t end well.

“Do you like it?” The nervousness was seeping out of Sooyoung this time.

“I love it.” Her heart fluttered when Jungeun leaned in for a sweet and short kiss. “The best gift ever!” It was actually the first gift she’s ever received in her entire life, but she wasn’t going to reveal that to Sooyoung.

They huddled closer under a blanket and swiped through video after video. The others sure liked to record the two whenever they were having a moment. _Weirdos._

Sooyoung glanced over every so often while Jungeun snoozed away on the ride back. _Adorable._

Her mind floated back to the photograph in her box underneath the floorboard. _Would Jungeun hate her if she knew?_

~

Hyunjin tossed the ball up in the air and caught it, repeating the action over and over again. Sooyoung spaced out the longer she watched her sister.

“What do you think they did with the Kim estate?” The older girl hummed in thought. Hyunjin had more of an attachment to their former home, but it still felt like a piece of Sooyoung, having grown up there most of her life.

“Probably government property now.”

The younger sister stopped her movements. The past year felt like it was moving at such a slow place. From their parent’s imprisonment to the downfall of the corrupt empire they built over the past few decades.

They just received word from Yeojin that the Kim’s were finally starting to let go of their assets, mainly their land. After all, they were spending the rest of their life behind bars on various accounts of conspiracy, treason, _everything_ it seemed like.

And basically no next of kin to take their place and all their money. To the public’s knowledge anyway.

“You think they cleared my room already?” Sooyoung raised her brows at the question. She watched Hyunjin stand abruptly. “We should sneak in.” The mini basketball rolled away.

Her thoughts momentarily fluttered back to a happy time where they got to watch holographic basketball games from VIP seats, courtesy of her parent’s connections. Something she quite misses from their past.

“How do you suppose we do that?”

Hyunjin smiled mischeviously. “We’ll take your cloaked car.”

This was a bad idea, Sooyoung knew that much, but she wasn’t going to stop the younger girl. They were better off sticking together in case the worst happened.

“You better hope we don’t get caught.”

~

Sooyoung spent the majority of her life not delving into old pop culture like her younger sister. She liked to live in the times they were currently in, but ever since Jungeun came into her life, she’s slowly been learning about what life was like back then.

“Can you turn the music down?” Her eyebrows scrunched up at the sheer volume coming out of the speakers.

Hyunjin continued singing along, louder actually, hitting the wheel to the beat. Sooyoung crossed her arms, knowing her attempts were futile when it came to the other girl and her music.

“You know they won’t be able to hear us when the car is cloaked.” Sooyoung rolled her eyes at that. She begs to differ.

They finally reached the estate, Hyunjin lowering the volume much to Sooyoung’s pleasure, but the smile was quickly wiped off her face at the sight below them. “Is that _allowed?!_ ”

Hyunjin parked and hid the car behind a tall hedge their parents used to warn them not to play around in. The far north part of the spacious land. Half of what they remembered was being demolished by a huge crane holding a wrecking ball.

“I can’t believe they did it.” Sooyoung whipped her head around to question her sister, but Hyunjin continued. “I heard father and mother arguing about getting rid of the west wing, since you weren’t living there anymore.”

A pang reverberated in Sooyoung’s chest. “But that looks like more than the west wing?”

“Father must have told them to get rid of the entire place to hide other incriminating evidence.”

Sooyoung’s mind floated back to the photo safely tucked away in the box under her floorboards. She shook her head, getting rid of the image that was slowly eating away at her.

“They’re already doing life.” She mumbled, trying to return to the problem at hand. “What do you need to grab from your room anyway? It’s been a while, do you really think no one’s gone in there?”

Hyunjin didn’t respond, instead moving forward to a smaller hedge closer to the mansion. Sooyoung was going to be pissed if this turned out to be what gets them caught after successfully evading the world for the past year.

“Just wait here while I go in.”

“No way, I’m going in with you.” Hyunjin rolled her eyes at the stare Sooyoung was giving her. The older sister stare. One she knew all too well. She huffed and grabbed her hand, making a break for the side entrance.

All feelings of sentimentality were out the window. The house was stripped of the once lively interior their mother worked so hard on. It never felt _homey_ to them, but there was a lot to get rid of if they were demolishing the place.

The two managed to slip through what was left of the place, reaching Hyunjin’s room. It _looked_ untouched. A paranoid thought barged into Sooyoung’s mind. “What if it’s a trap?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Her sister’s words didn’t stop her from launching forward. Sooyoung was getting a dreadful feeling in the pit of her stomach. “In and out real fast, no worries.” She threw over her shoulder.

She watched as Hyunjin quickly crawled across the hall, throwing herself inside her room before a construction worker can walk past. Sooyoung sat against the wall, holding her breath. Her sister should be out in no time.

~

“Where have you guys been?”

Hyunjin bounded up the stairs without a word, the slam of a door vibrating their little junkyard warehouse home. Sooyoung grimaced, looking at the others awkwardly. Heejin followed soon after.

Jungeun took a step closer, wrapping her arms around Sooyoung. “What did you do?”

“What did _I_ do? Why are you assuming I had anything to do with her mood?” Her girlfriend gave her a pointed look. She whined. “How come you always side with Hyunjin?” Jungeun patted her shoulder and stepped away, smirking before plopping back onto the couch.

The others dispersed and left the couple in the small living room. “So what did you do?”

Sooyoung deadpanned, but gave in anyway. “ _We_ went to our parent’s house.” There was a voice in the back of her head, telling her not to reveal too much. It made her pause for a minute. “Hyunjin needed to get something from her old room.”

“I’m assuming she didn’t find it?”

“No.”

She shrunk under Jungeun’s suspicious gaze. Was Sooyoung _that_ transparent? Could she see right through her? “Well, I’m glad the two of you got home safe.” She smiled when her small girlfriend cuddled into her side.

Sooyoung’s jitteriness disappeared almost instantly. She would love to just move on with her life, with Jungeun, with her friends and Hyunjin, but something, _someone_ always seemed to crawl back into her life somehow.

~

“Have you heard from Jiwoo?” Heejin leaned against the door frame with her arms crossed. Sooyoung gave her a weird look. The last time she’s seen her friend was actually at Heejin’s lake house reunion party. _What a memorable night..._

“She thinks I’m dead, remember?”

The younger girl pursed her lips, shaking her head. “Then why did I get this letter from her via pigeon carrier?” Heejin pulled out a bright red envelope. Sooyoung froze. “She knows we’ve been here the entire time.”

Sooyoung knew Jiwoo. The girl was harmless. Completely. “Did you say _pigeon carrier?_ What does that mean?”

Heejin rolled her eyes, tossing the letter onto Sooyoung’s lap. “You should probably talk to her soon.” She picked it up, quickly skimming the long paragraphs in Jiwoo’s easily identifiable handwriting.

The words _you liar_ and _i miss you_ popped out to her the most. Perhaps it was time she paid her old friend a visit. And maybe find some answers to questions that have been brought back to the forefront of her mind lately.

~

“See I _knew_ you were still alive!”

Sooyoung grunted, the impact of the hug almost toppling them over. The two made plans to meet at an abandoned park a few blocks from the junkyard, to be safe. Jiwoo’s business attire coupled with the run down playground felt a bit jarring, but nonetheless she was glad to see the other girl.

“Nice to see you too!” They took a seat on a secluded bench, the sound of bugs buzzing in the trees around them, the night sky sort of hot for it being late in the year. “Anything new?”

An unreadable expression flashed across Jiwoo’s face before a huge smile appeared. “Nothing we couldn’t fix!” _Huh? What did she mean by that?_ “Things have kind of gone downhill since your parents— you know.”

 _Sadly_ , Sooyoung muses to herself.

Jiwoo continued, looking up at the sky to avoid eye contact. “They seriously messed with a lot of things that we’ve been trying to clean up and salvage.” Sooyoung had a vague sense of what her friend could be referring to. “But I’m glad you’re okay!”

“Never been better actually.” And that was the truth. Maybe Sooyoung should have faked her death years ago, but then again she might not have been reunited with Hyunjin. “Nice play back at the lake house by the way, pretending that you didn’t know my real name.”

The two had a good laugh at that. “I’m mad that I didn’t put two and two together. That Heejin’s girlfriend was _your_ Hyunjin.” Sooyoung shrugged, Jiwoo couldn’t have known without all the details from both Heejin and her.

“What are the odds, right?”

“Heejin knows now obviously. Right?”

“Of course.” There was a pause, silence hanging in the air around them.

“Does Hyunjin know?”

Sooyoung put her face in her hands, leaning her elbows on her knees. “I don’t know how to tell her.” She felt Jiwoo’s comforting hand on her back. The two went way back, a close friend and ally Sooyoung managed to keep secret from her parents, even Hyunjin.

For every time her mother forced her to befriend someone to their benefit, she made secret alliances on the side. Jiwoo worked undercover for Heejin’s family, the true nature of her work rarely being spoken about amongst the girls, but they all knew. She worked in a cubicle at one of the office buildings downtown as a front.

Taking down her parents was a long time in the making. She befriended their biggest enemy and finally did it, despite having to “die” in the process.

“We emptied her room months ago, before your parents could do anything about the estate.”

“Wish you told me sooner, would have saved us the trip and disappointment.” She wasn’t looking, but she knew Jiwoo was rolling her eyes. There was a beep coming from her charm bracelet, a voice message.

_**Baby~ hurry home please! I’m waiting for you on our—** _

Sooyoung frantically clicked the holographic voice bubble away, turning a deep shade of red.

“Who the hell was that?!”

~

“What’s on your mind?”

Sooyoung felt a finger poke her cheek. She had been staring up at the ceiling for what felt like hours now, but when she checked the time, only five minutes had passed. Jungeun replaced her finger with her lips, peppering her puffed up cheek with kisses.

_Nothing was on her mind now._

Before she could completely drown herself, Jungeun pulled away, her smirk obvious even in the dark. “Meanie.” Sooyoung stuck her tongue out, gaining a laugh from the other girl.

Pure bliss.

Jungeun’s laugh faded. “You’ve been.. _off_ lately. You know you can tell me anything.”

 _No,_ Sooyoung thought, _she really couldn’t._

She turned onto her side and wrapped an arm around Jungeun’s waist, pulling her impossibly closer. “I know.”

How could she though? Tell Jungeun the details of her past and the things her parents put her through? The things that continue to haunt her no matter how hard she tries to forget? It almost felt as if the box underneath the floorboards kept taunting her.

There was so much to it all, most of which the others were never even aware of. A lot of it didn’t make much sense to her either, but they were better off not knowing anything.

Sooyoung could feel the other girl staring at her, waiting to see if she would actually speak more about it. No luck. “We should get some sleep. Tomorrow’s a big day.”

“What’s tomorrow?”

~

Yeojin dramatically glided into the living with a golden cape nearly dragging along the floor. “We’re gathered here today for a special reveal!” Vivi and Haseul cooed and clapped excitedly, the rest a bit confused about the younger girl’s shenanigans. Sooyoung refrained from rolling her eyes, instead plastering on a supportive smile.

A couple times a year, they would have a small show and tell. Sooyoung never had anything to offer, but the other three spent the vast majority of their time creating and building inventions. Today’s show and tell was the first one with the new girls.

“What’s going on?” Jungeun whispered discreetly by her side.

“Oh, just wait and see.”

The lights dimmed, Yeojin’s cape glowing in the dark majestically before a projector beamed against the empty white wall. Some of the tech they used was so old school, very unfamiliar to Sooyoung at times. Why couldn’t they just use holograms like normal 22nd century people?

The screen started with white fuzz, crackling noises crunched through their speaker system, then a video finally appeared. It seemed to be shot on an old camera, an iPhone maybe? Sooyoung wonders how they managed to get a hold on an ancient artifact like that. She smirks, proud that she figured it out all on her own.

“Behold!” Yeojin mimicked herself from the video as it played out next to her, pausing to fuel the anticipation. The small girl spun around to show off her cape properly. Word for word, the same exact actions, she replicated what was showing in the video.

What came next shocked them.

“No way in hell—“

“How did she make _that?!_ ”

Yeojin giggled from up high, proud of her flying abilities all thanks to the fabric wrapped around her back. She floated back down, landing gracefully before bowing. There was scattered applause along with some flabbergasted looks.

“A magician never reveals their secrets.”

Jungeun furrowed her eyebrows. “But you aren’t a magician?”

The younger girl narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms defensively. “And how would you know that I’m not?”

Sooyoung could only laugh at the scene in front of her. Yeojin probably installed some sort of jet pack under the cape, one that was silent enough to make others think that it was just the cape allowing her to fly.

“Alright guys. Vivi is up next!” Haseul deescalated the brewing squabble, grabbing Yeojin and plopping her down on the couch.

The oldest girl unceremoniously lugged over something that looked very familiar to Sooyoung. Oh, it was the final form of the shield she “helped out” on. It definitely looked cooler now.

Vivi knocked on it, the metal vibrating under her knuckles. “This sucker can protect you from pretty much anything. Bullets, fire— you name it.”

“Captain America’s shield?!” Jungeun and Heejin blurted out at the same time, only the two of them seeming to catch the joke. Heejin gave Hyunjin a pointed look.

“Who? I only paid attention to Black Widow...”

Vivi huffed. “Whatever that means, I guess.”

Sooyoung was curious about what Haseul was going to bring to the table. The girl had been hush hush about the private solo project she had been working on. Her inventions were high end, things you’d see government scientists making. She was thankful that Haseul’s talents weren’t used for corruption.

If it wasn’t for Haseul, they wouldn’t have come this far. They wouldn’t have been able to save Hyunjin, Jungeun, and Heejin from 2020.

Sooyoung owed a lot to her friends.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the grand entrance of a huge robot.

“No way!” Sooyoung watched as Jungeun shot up from her seat, sweetly hugging the leg of the frozen robot. Something clicked in her head, finally recognizing it. The robot was Jungeun’s, but it was much bigger, almost triple the size of what she remembers. “Where did you find my robot?!”

Haseul shrugged, the pink blush on her cheeks a bit suspicious. Sooyoung squinted, her eyes darting towards Vivi. She was picking at her nails, looking very disinterested. _Now what is this all about..._

“I ran into it a few months ago.”

“— _it’s_ name is Wall-E!” Jungeun interjected, causing Hyunjin to clap suddenly.

“Ha! I got that reference!”

_When did Jungeun name her robot?_

“So I managed to take _Wall-E_ back to the warehouse without anyone noticing, and repurposed the exoskeleton. But the configurations are pretty much the same, with a few bells and whistles.” Haseul brushed back her bob, pleased with herself.

Way to one up her anniversary present.

“I can’t believe this!” Jungeun gushed, examining the revamped robot. Sooyoung watched Haseul carefully, an ugly feeling bubbling in her stomach. Before she could deal with it, she felt a nudge.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Sooyoung scowled at her sister. This was _not_ what it looked like. Haseul would never do that to them, to Vivi. She glanced over to the older girl again. The two needed to talk...

“So that concludes the show and tell!”

“First place winner clearly goes to me.” Yeojin announced, taking several more bows to no one in particular. “Hold the applause.”

Everyone knew they weren’t crowning a winner for a _show and tell_ , but no one could be bothered to argue with the young girl. Sooyoung patted her on the back.

“How much for it?”

~

“So, do you want to tell me what’s going on?”

Sooyoung followed Vivi out into the junkyard. The sun was sinking under the horizon and the city skyline was slowly lighting up. Vivi ruffled through some junk, clearly trying to make herself only _look_ busy.

“What are you talking about?”

“I could have sworn you and Haseul had a thing?”  
A metal bar slipped from Vivi’s grasp, landing on the hood of a torn up car, the clanking sound echoing throughout the yard. Sooyoung noticed her tense shoulders. “Me too.” She gulped at her friend’s defeated tone of voice.

What went wrong? Why hadn’t Sooyoung noticed anything sooner? Haseul was all the same to her. Absolutely nothing to indicate _betrayal_ —

As if the day couldn’t get any weirder, they heard running engines coming their way. Sooyoung tugged Vivi down, hiding behind piles of discarded car parts. The two exchanged knowing looks.

“Let Haseul know right now. We have to head back before they get closer.”

Vivi held up her wrist, toying with an old gadget of some sort. The serious situation couldn’t stop Sooyoung from asking though. “What is that?” She watched as the older girl slid her finger around the small frame, a message slowly appearing.

“This? It’s called an Apple Watch.”

“But where’s the apple?”

Vivi’s deep sigh indicated that she definitely was _not_ going to answer her question. She quickly scanned the area one last time before nudging the older girl to move closer to safety. They didn’t stray too far from the warehouse, but the engine sounds were getting dangerously closer.

Sooyoung pulled down the garage just in time for Haseul’s cloaking device to activate. Everyone’s eyes were bubbling with concern. Jungeun slid up next to her, clutching her arm.

“What did you guys see?”

“Might just be a routine check up, but they never come out this far.” Sooyoung exchanged glances with Haseul, who oddly couldn’t meet her eyes. “Leave the cloak on overnight. We’ll figure things out tomorrow.”

She hoped that they were just passing through.

~

“Wake up!”

Sooyoung felt her shoulders being shaken, opening her eyes to see Hyunjin hovering over her from the side of the bed. She inhaled sharply, trying to calm her pounding chest. She was having a nightmare.

“Are you good?”

She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, shrugging off her sister’s tight grip. “I am now.” Hyunjin took a seat on the edge, eyes momentarily glancing towards Jungeun, who was still sleeping peacefully despite the sisters. She smiled at the necklace wrapped around her neck. Now she knows why Sooyoung was hounding her to recover lost photos and videos of the two.

She resisted the urge to smirk. “Let’s go check outside before the sun rises and the others start to wake.” Hyunjin patted the bed and stood up. Sooyoung had nearly forgotten about last night. She pressed a quick kiss to Jungeun’s head and hurried out.

“You’d think they’d give up searching for us after a year.” Sooyoung clicked her tongue disapprovingly. “Unless they have reason to believe that we’ve all been alive and in hiding.”

“Our parent’s are pretty persistent.” Hyunjin unlocked the side door and stepped out carefully, checking their surroundings first and gesturing for Sooyoung to follow her after finding the coast is clear. “You know they won’t rest until they find a body.”

The junkyard looked untouched, everything looking the exact same. Was she just hearing things? No, but the engines were so _loud_. She heaved herself onto a smashed car, squinting into the distance. Were they in danger? _Of course,_ Sooyoung scoffed quietly to herself. _They always were going to be._

Sooyoung felt useless. Not to mention that she couldn’t help but feel like she was the cause of all this. If she hadn’t run into Jungeun on that fateful day, what would things be like now? Would Jungeun and her sister be happy? Safe? _Married?_ Would the two be pawns in her parent’s evil schemes?

Maybe it was for the best that things ended up the way they did.

So lost in thought, she didn’t even notice Hyunjin crawling onto the car to stand next to her. “Everything will be okay.” _She sounded so sure._ Sooyoung hoped so.

~

Jungeun sleepily slid under the covers and swung an arm around the body that was facing away from her. She could feel the other girl sighing. “Again?”

She gulped, feeling a lump starting to form in her throat. “Sooyoung seems really distracted.” The girl turned around to face her. “I told her she can tell me anything, but she hasn’t opened up.”

Heejin brushed back a loose strand of Jungeun’s hair, eyeing her with concern but it just looked like pity to her. “I’m sure she’ll come around. I mean, it took Hyunjin a while too. And sometimes I still find her mysterious.”

They fell into a peaceful silence. It was too early in the morning to delve that deep into their feelings. Jungeun snuggled closer, just itching for the physical comfort she had been lacking recently.

“Don’t try to make this a habit, the others will probably get the wrong idea.” Heejin mumbled, wrapping her arm around Jungeun’s head and patting her gently, making her extra sleepy. “There’s nothing to worry about. Sooyoung loves you and you love her. Everything will be okay.”

_Will it?_

~

Yeojin tiptoed away from the door ever so quietly. What was going _on_ with everyone? She wasn’t blind. She was old enough and observant enough to understand that problems were surely going to arise among them. Come on, seven girls under one roof? Recipe for drama.

Minus herself. She was an angel.

She continued down the stairs and let out the breath she was holding as soon as her foot landed on the last step. Yeojin was just going to keep her mouth shut. This time.

“Damn it!” She swirled around to see Haseul roll out from under a piece of the robot she was just showing off to everyone the day before. Jungeun’s robot apparently. Yeojin rolled her eyes at that. It was painfully evident, Haseul’s crush on the girl. She was sure the others were aware, except Jungeun herself.

A slippery slope, considering the obvious.

“What’s up?”

“I thought I could manage without this _one_ piece.” The older girl muttered to herself, her hands coming up to frustratingly rub at her face, smearing brown smudge on her cheeks. Yeojin refrained from grimacing too hard.

“Why not just get the piece?”

Haseul laid her eyes on Yeojin for the first time during their whole exchange, facial expression grim. “That would require me to meet with—“

“ _Don’t_ say her name.” The two girls whipped their heads around to the entrance, finding the sisters walking in. Yeojin exchanged a confused look with Hyunjin who only shrugged. “Haseul, I swear...”

“Sooyoung. The robot is a bust if I don’t have this piece.”

The arguing fades into the back as Yeojin moves away and into the kitchen with Hyunjin. “Any idea who they’re talking about?” She felt particularly nosy. Another shrug from the older girl.

“Sometimes, it’s like I don’t even know my own sister.”

Yeojin scrunched up her face. Maybe she shouldn’t have asked.

~

This was quite possibly—no, it _was_ — the biggest mistake she was going to make. She slammed the car door, staring up hard at the tall glass building. A lone building standing tall among endless green fields. The last time Sooyoung was here was...

“You know you didn’t have to come.” Haseul’s voice appeared close to her, quiet and hesitant. Sooyoung thought back to the box under her floorboards, to the picture.

She didn’t say anything. Instead, moving forward before she could try and run back home.

The place was different than she remembered, bustling with fresh faced employees. Totally revamped from years ago. A young girl was barking orders to a group of men in white coats. She must have been around Yeojin’s age, or even younger.

“Who let these two in?”

Sooyoung’s eyes narrowed, but the girl was as tall as her. It made her intimidating stance less effective. Damn it.

“We’re here to see Doyeon.”

The young girl’s glare faltered at Haseul’s words, making her jaw clench. “Right this way then.” They were led up a glass spiral staircase, into a huge see through office floor.

A tall figure stood near the floor to ceiling windows, her back to the three of them. “Miss? You have people here to see you.” There was a long silence.

“And why would you let them in, Jihan?”

The young worker shuffled her feet, obviously scared of the big boss. If Sooyoung didn’t feel an overwhelming sense of dread, she probably would have joked with Haseul about little children running this place.

“Doyeon.”

This _Jihan_ scurried away before the tall boss could turn around to face them. “What the hell are you two doing here?” Haseul could only offer a nervous smirk, meanwhile Sooyoung was avoiding all eye contact.

“I was wondering, if by any chance, you had a spare actuator?” Doyeon gave her a nasty look, as if Haseul had just asked her something stupid. Sooyoung decided to hang by the doorway while her friend approached Doyeon.

“Of course I do. Why do you ask?” Always nosy, that one. Doyeon’s curiosity always got Sooyoung in trouble...

Haseul wrung her hands. “It’s for a project of mine.” The tall girl tapped a finger to her chin, pretending like she actually cared. Her narrowed gaze flittered towards Sooyoung before landing back on Haseul.

An unasked question hung in the air, along with some unresolved tension. If there was one thing to hate, Sooyoung hated that Haseul had a connection to Doyeon, the city’s most reclusive inventor. The mastermind behind a plethora of futuristic tech.

The person who was in her photograph. Sooyoung gulped, a bunch of deeply hidden memories suddenly rushing back into her head when Doyeon locked eyes with her.

_“What’s up with you and empty fields?” Sooyoung swatted away a tree branch, closely following her friend as she led them through a forest. The moment they came out, a gasp caught in her throat._

_“I finally have a secret lab!”_

_Ahead of them was a shed the size of her room back at her parent’s estate. “What the—“_

_Doyeon squealed, dragging Sooyoung. “There’s so much I can do now!” The place was spacious inside, Doyeon’s prototypes already lined up along the walls._

_A very rough looking time machine._

_Even her parent’s friends couldn’t figure out time travel, but she believe Doyeon could eventually become the first._

_Sooyoung knew there would be dangers, knew when they finally got the machine up and running that Doyeon would want to go back in time. Out of pure curiosity._

_Doyeon constantly talked about her family’s legacy, stemming back all the way to the year 2000. She wanted to travel in time to meet her ancestors. Sooyoung could only offer to join her journey in hopes to protect the younger girl from whatever came their way._

_Equipped with a mind eraser Doyeon invented from just scraps she stole from her parent’s company, they set out to the year 2019. Sooyoung never knew why Doyeon chose that specific year._

“Long time no see, stranger.” Doyeon was now addressing Sooyoung, who remained rooted in her spot by the doorway. “What have you been busy with lately?” The question seemed a bit accusatory. She scowled to herself, not bothering to reply.

“Doyeon, please.” Sooyoung was thankful that Haseul was there, as a distraction. “Can you help me out or not?” The girl looked deep in thought, further infuriating an antsy Haseul. Sooyoung figured it would take a while to convince the elusive inventor.

“Sure. Let me just take you down to the labs.” Sooyoung did a double take, was she hearing her right? Haseul looked just as shocked too, but they weren’t going to mention it. Doyeon glided out of the office, expecting the two to follow right after her.

~

“You know there was really no reason for you to tag along, especially since you barely said a word to her.” The car ride back to the warehouse was silent. Haseul got what she came for and they promptly left right after. They were now walking towards the garage.

Sooyoung sighed. Haseul, yet another person who doesn’t know the full story. Would anyone truly ever know Sooyoung? Even her own sister doesn’t. “I don’t know.” Her friend didn’t question any further, knowing not to push it.

Seeing Doyeon made Sooyoung forget why they even went to her in the first place. To get something to fix Haseul’s robot project for Jungeun. She furrowed her eyebrows, wanting desperately to confront Haseul before they made it inside. But the universe had other plans.

The warehouse was eerily quiet, empty. She exchanged confused glances with Haseul before checking her phone. One unread text from Jungeun twenty minutes ago.

An arrow zoomed past her in the dark, her finger hovering over the unopened message, she ducked and took Haseul down with her. “What the hell was that?!” A flurry of arrows rained down on them as they ran back out. She dragged Haseul back to the car and got the engine started, tossing her phone over to her. “Read Jungeun’s message.”

Sooyoung maneuvered her way out of the junkyard, thinking of places to seek shelter. She hoped that the others were someplace safe or at least had each other. “Oh no.”

“Haseul. What does it say?!”

~

Sooyoung embraced Jungeun, squeezing her tight. “I’m glad you guys are safe.” Haseul clung onto Yeojin and Vivi.

“But they’re holding Hyunjin and Heejin captive!” Jungeun had tears in her eyes, breaking Sooyoung’s heart even more.

“Who is?”

Jungeun shook her head, as if she couldn’t believe what she was about to say. “Heejin’s _friends_ from that one party! They let us go because they said they only needed Heejin, but Hyunjin couldn’t let that happen.”

Sooyoung didn’t know whether to be proud of her sister or think she’s incredibly stupid for that, but she was still relieved to hear that they had each other. None of it was making sense to her though. “Which of her friends? Did they say why?”

They were standing in the park where she had met with Jiwoo not too long ago. Was she involved? Was it all a trap?

“Jinsoul and Chaewon.”

Vivi piped in after being silent this entire time. “They said they had orders and it seemed like they were under duress.”

“But why keep them at the warehouse?” Yeojin threw her arms up in the air, completely thrown off about everything that has occurred. Sooyoung wondered the same.

“I’m so sorry. I couldn’t do anything, I-I couldn’t even fight back!” Jungeun sniffled, burying her face in Sooyoung’s chest. If it was anyone’s fault, it was hers and hers alone. Sooyoung wasn’t even there for them when it all went down, instead she was busy dragging up old memories by visiting Doyeon.

“It’s alright.” She soothed her girlfriend by kissing the top of her head. “We’ll get them back.”

~

_A mistake. It was all a mistake._

These words repeated over and over in Sooyoung’s head. _Everything was a mistake._

The scene in front of her felt very familiar, just like the one she was in a year prior. The final showdown with her parents. Except this time, she couldn’t quite believe her eyes.

“Why would you do this?”

The sound of her heart pounded in her ears. The uneasiness, the anxiety, the absolute horror she felt.

“It’s not that I _wanted_ to, Sooyoung. I had to.”

She watched as Jiwoo circled around the lab, coming to stand in front of two bodies strapped to chairs. Her sister and her sister’s girlfriend. Hyunjin and Heejin.

“I didn’t even know you worked for Doyeon.” Sooyoung could feel herself free falling, losing her stability, her cool. Things were turning out completely wrong, absolutely wrong. It just made _no sense_.

“There’s a lot you don’t know.”

The girls went to take back the warehouse only to find it empty, their friends moved elsewhere. After convincing Jungeun and the others to stay and look after the warehouse, she made a mental list of places to check where they could have possibly taken her sister.

Was it pure luck she found them on her first try?

“Enlighten me.” Sooyoung momentarily met Hyunjin’s gaze. She looked confused. _Fair_. Her fist tightened, she was ready to fight her way out of there to save the two. Even if it met going up against Jiwoo of all people, with Doyeon backing her up. She frowned at the young employee, Jihan, guarding the door with a smirk.

Jiwoo had on an unnerving smile. She dismissed her with a wave. “It’ll take decades to catch you up.” Heejin took this moment to unsuccessfully wrestle her way out of the restraints. Their friend turned enemy pouted at the effort. Heejin’s glare was deadly. “I would say it isn’t personal, but I guess it kind of is.”

Hyunjin flailed in her chair, trying hard to come for Jiwoo. There was fire in her eyes, it even freaked Sooyoung out. “Come on, do you have to have their mouths taped?”

“I don’t want insults hurled at me!”

Sooyoung shrugged, mumbling her next words. “I don’t think insults are completely uncalled for in this situation, but whatever.” She kept her distance from the unhinged girl, something was obviously not right with her old friend. Her little minions were no where to be found either.

She was on high alert and ready to pounce when the time was right. _Wait,_ she stumbled sideways, _when did she start feeling dizzy?_

~

Jungeun wasn’t going to let her girlfriend fend for herself, so she came up with a plan.

“It’s a bad plan.”

“Yeojin—“

“I’m sorry, do you _actually_ think it’s a good plan?”

Vivi pursed her lips, swinging from side to side. “I’m with Yeojin on this one, Haseul. We need to think of something else.” Jungeun slouched on the couch. She really thought her plan was fool proof. She also missed the way the Yeojin and Vivi exchanged glances the second Haseul turned towards her.

“I could get the robot up and running, but we don’t even know where they are.”

There was a pause, and then a clap. They looked at Yeojin, bewildered, she was jumping up and down excitedly. The younger girl flew around the living room and reached the filing cabinet they had sitting in the corner. She tapped a code on the very bottom drawer and it popped out.

“After last year, I came up with mini trackers.” Yeojin held up her hand before anyone could interject. “Now’s not the time to be mad at me, but I installed one into everyone’s shoes.”

“You could’ve mentioned this earlier!”

“Well, I just remembered!” Yeojin huffed at Haseul. “Anyway, I think I can figure out where she is.”

Jungeun rubbed her hands together. “So Haseul and I will get the robot working and you and Vivi can track Sooyoung down.” Another exchanged glance between Yeojin and Vivi went unnoticed.

~

“I assume this is how it feels to meet with the final boss of a game?” Sooyoung jokingly muttered, feeling extremely groggy. They must have injected her with something. Her eyes blinked open, an empty white room expanding far in front of her.

The tall figure crossed her arms, leaning in closer. “Remember that time we tried to break into your parent’s wine cellar? They were so angry, I was sure they were going to disown you.”

“I kind of remember that differently.” Doyeon had snuck onto the property and tried to rope her into stealing a million dollar gadget hidden behind the walls in said wine cellar. Sooyoung was caught almost instantly by her father, and she got off “easy” because of him.

The tall girl reached into her back pocket, sliding out a handheld device and showing it to Sooyoung. “It took me years to finally get my hands on it. I found it in your sister’s room.” Was that what Hyunjin was looking for? The thing she was willing to risk being caught for? “I guess you did me a favor after all, getting your parents imprisoned so I could search the estate.”

“I definitely did not have you in mind.” Sooyoung tugged on her wrist restraints. They were excessively tight. Doyeon pouted.

“You clearly have no idea the amount of power I now hold because of this. And it was just sitting in your sister’s room, unguarded. Is she crazy? Or just plain stupid?” Sooyoung grit her teeth. _No one,_ and she means _no one,_ was to speak of her sister like that.

She wriggled in the chair. “Why are you doing this? How do you even know Jiwoo?”

“I thought it was obvious?” Sooyoung didn’t know which question Doyeon was even referring to. “She’s my cousin.” Sooyoung froze, trying hard to show no reaction from the revelation. The other girl continued to speak.

“I just found out recently, around the time you disappeared actually.”

Sooyoung thought back to when she met up with Jiwoo at the park. Now she was a hundred percent sure it was a set up. How could she have let her guard down?

Doyeon circled around her slowly, finally coming around to face her. She placed her hands on Sooyoung’s restrained wrists and leaned forward. “She’s not from Jungeun’s lineage, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

 _Doom._ That’s what it felt like, like the other shoe had dropped with what she said. It hadn’t even crossed her mind yet. Doyeon moved away, an evil smirk on her face. Sooyoung couldn’t hide her feelings now.

“Don’t ever say her name.”

Her back was to her, but she could still hear the smugness in her voice. “Like you’re so innocent in all of this?” Sooyoung paled. Her worst nightmare was turning into reality. “I think you’re worse than me actually.”

~

“Jiwoo, you don’t have to do this!” Heejin’s voice was frantic. The girl sighed, rolling her eyes.

“I should’ve kept your mouth taped.”

“Then please tell me why you’re doing this at least?” Hyunjin was knocked out cold after an attempt to headbutt Jiwoo. At least the young employee looked somewhat apologetic when she shot her girlfriend with a tranquilizer.

“There’s too much to explain, Heejin. This goes beyond us.” She knows she hasn’t seen Jiwoo since last year, but she was so different. The complete opposite of the happy go lucky, protective aura she gave off back then.

“Why me?” She noticed Jiwoo’s jaw lock at the question. “Why me?” Heejin pushed.

An apologetic look flashed across her face before it hardened. Jiwoo turned away and walked out of the lab, waving Jihan over to stand guard. Heejin slumped against her chair, heart clenching at the sight of Hyunjin sleeping peacefully despite the absolute mess going on around them.

It didn’t take a genius to realize they were caught up in something huge. And Hyunjin chose to stick with her. Tears started to roll down her cheeks. They better make it out of this.

~

_2019 sure was a strange year._

_“Are you sure we’re at the right place?”_

_Doyeon unfolded a wrinkly photograph, squinting at the house in the picture and at the house in front of them. “Do you think they’ll be able to tell that we’re not from this time?”_

_Sooyoung wasn’t sure. “They won’t. Besides, we have that zapper.” She also wasn’t sure the mind wiper would even work. Doyeon nodded in agreement anyway before awkwardly knocking on the front door. They held their breath. “Who did you say we were meeting?”_

_“My great great aunt.”_

_She furrowed her eyebrows out of slight judgement. “Why her? Of all people.”_

_Doyeon knocked again. She shrugged. “She seemed the most interesting to me because my family didn’t have much on her.”_

_Sooyoung smirked, wondering why no one was coming to the door already. “So, a mystery?”_

_After the third knock, the door swung open, catching everyone off guard, especially the girl answering the door. “Hello? I’m not interested in whatever you’re selling.”_

_Doyeon looked like a fish out of water, mouth gaping at the sight of her old relative. She’s only ever seen two pictures of her great great aunt, and those were taken when she was way older, but the resemblance was definitely there._

_Her gaze shifted over to Sooyoung, who looked equally as dumbstruck, and maybe even a little... lovestruck?_

_“Are you two... alright?” The girl scanned the area behind them and beside them, figuring out if these strange girls were in some sort of immediate danger._

_She couldn’t help herself from blurting it out. “Greetings Jungeun! I’m Doyeon.” She stuck her hand out, which the other girl just stared at warily, even backing away a bit._

_“H-How do you know my name?”_

_This outburst seemed to snap Sooyoung out of her trance, whacking her friend. “My apologies. We don’t mean to worry you.” Doyeon narrowed her eyes curiously. Sooyoung has never sounded this formal and.. nice? Like ever._

_“Still doesn’t explain how you guys know me.” At this point, Jungeun was retreating further and further behind the door, looking like she was about to slam it in their faces._

_Sooyoung glanced at Doyeon who met her gaze. They both shrugged, reaching an agreement. “I’m Doyeon. You’re great great niece from the future.” The door slammed shut. “Was it something I said?”_

~

So many questions. So many questions flooding Sooyoung’s head. Questions she has been ignoring for quite some time now. None of it truly made any sense.

Did Doyeon ever anticipate Jungeun coming to the future? Did Jiwoo? Was their family timeline in danger because of it? It would explain their sudden worries. So why hadn’t they captured Jungeun too? Why was Heejin roped into it?

And the more painful question. Was Jungeun meant to grow old in her timeline? Was she even supposed to come to the future?

Did her parents mess everything up for her?

Jungeun’s parents. What were they, then, to Doyeon and Jiwoo? Grandparents?

Or... was everything meant to happen this way?

_Temporal anomaly._

This was doing Sooyoung’s head in.

“You’re awake.” She flinched at the familiar voice. Hyunjin. With a proper look around, she realized they were moved to a different room. Just the two of them. “No, I don’t know where we are.” It’s like she read her mind.

“What did we get ourselves involved in?” Sooyoung threw her head back, sick of it all. The dangers of her parent’s criminal ways clinging onto the sisters lives even after their imprisonment. It’s what they expected, but not what they wanted to happen obviously.

Hyunjin was quiet, a frown carved into her features. It was freaking Sooyoung out honestly. Then she remembered. “Doyeon. She has something of yours.” This got a reaction from the younger sister.

“Did she tell you why?!”

“No!” Sooyoung shelved away the other conversation she shared with her estranged friend. “Just said it was powerful.”

Hyunjin groaned, softly banging her head on the nearby wall. There were so many missing puzzle pieces. Did the others have any they can piece together to make sense of it all?

~

This was a long day. A never ending cycle of waking up in different rooms each time it seemed like. Were they stalling? Why hadn’t anything happened yet?

They were all gathered in one room this time, eerily similar to the lab she was in with her parents last year. She couldn’t believe this was happening.

She fleetingly wondered what Jungeun was doing, would she make the stupid attempt to come save her?

Sooyoung’s questions were answered, to her horror, in the form of a very large robot. It tore through the lab and swiped Sooyoung up first, then Hyunjin, then Heejin who was strapped to a machine at the other end of the lab. She could hear faint screaming from Jiwoo and the angered shouts of Doyeon.

Just like that? Seemed too easy.

It was like she jinxed it, because the second the robot made a step, it came crashing down. She was thrown onto the field outside, but she could hear the voices of her friends. Specifically Yeojin’s screeching.

“Are you serious?! I’ve never seen such shoddy work from you!”

“Give me a break! You barely gave me two hours!”

Sooyoung was thankful to know her friends were there to save them, but the pain shooting up her side took up all her thoughts. Her eyes started to flutter shut.

“Oh my god.” She felt warm hands scoop her head up from the grass. Her vision was hazy and her ears were ringing. “Babe, stay awake.” Now the warm hands were on her face.

“Grab the others. We need to get far away from here as possible.” It was the last thing she managed to hear before completely passing out.

~

_“I see the way you look at her, Sooyoung. Do you think I’m dumb?” Doyeon paused. “You know what, don’t answer that.”_

_Two weeks had passed since they time traveled to the year 2019 and somehow managed to befriend Jungeun after the initial shock wore off. Oddly enough, she didn’t seem entirely weirded out, but the girl made sure to never bring them around the house again._

_They met up with her on campus, where the two could easily blend in with the students. It wasn’t easy at all._

_Sooyoung held her stomach, a strange sensation coursing through her while she stared at Jungeun ordering food from a hot dog cart. Her stomach must be acting up because its hungry._

_Doyeon lowered her voice, looking serious for the first time since they got there. “Do you think she’s some sort of temporal anomaly? It could explain why there’s not much known about her.”_

_She mulled over the thought. Sooyoung was helpless when it came to timelines or time traveling or anything of the sort. She shrugged. “Does it have to be that complicated? Why can’t she just be your great great aunt?”_

_Doyeon snorted. “That you have the hots for? Pass.” Sooyoung choked on her drink. “Relax. We don’t know for sure what she is to me. We’re going to wipe her mind when we leave, so I guess it doesn’t really matter.”_

_Sooyoung’s stomach did a nervous flip. She felt bad about erasing someone’s memories, even if it was to protect them. “Do we have to do that?”_

_“Are you seriously asking? We can’t risk anything.”_

_A soft smile emerged on Sooyoung’s face as Jungeun approached them, juggling three hot dogs in her arms._

_Thump thump._

~

The large van floated through the air on autopilot, no particular destination in sight, but they were definitely far from the city. Sooyoung felt a soft kiss on her forehead.

“How are you feeling?”

“Like a huge robot tossed me into a field.”

Jungeun grimaced. “Sorry about that. I guess Wall-E 2.0 wasn’t quite ready for a rescue mission.” Sooyoung couldn’t help but laugh at that. To her left, Hyunjin and Heejin were sound asleep on a small cot, wrapped up in each others arms. She could hear Yeojin and Haseul bickering up front.

Vivi stood up from the back of the van to hand her a bottle of water. Questions still lingered in Sooyoung’s head, but she was too exhausted to put them out in the open.

“Sorry about your robot.”

Jungeun waved dismissively, but Sooyoung didn’t miss the way her eyes crinkled the way they would whenever she tried to hide how hurt she actually was. “Haseul can make me a new one.”

Something on the ground in the back of the van stirred, causing panic to course through Sooyoung’s veins. “What was that?!”

Vivi nonchalantly pointed behind her. “That? A stowaway.” It stirred even more, the cover on top of it coming off and making Sooyoung’s breath catch in her throat. Doyeon.

She frantically looked from her girlfriend, to Vivi, to her estranged friend. This was bad, having them all in one place.

“Why did you guys take her?!”

“Why not?” Vivi furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

Sooyoung facepalmed, but it only made her head ring. “One, she’s dangerous. Two, _she’s dangerous!_ ”

Vivi kicked Doyeon lightly, earning a glare from the tall girl. “Doesn’t seem so dangerous to me.” Sooyoung let out a groan.

~

The roles were reversed now. Sooyoung was looking down while Doyeon was tied up to a chair. The girls managed to seek shelter in one of Heejin’s safe houses, a library turned condo. The one place she kept secret from everyone, literally everyone. It was easy to, seeing as it was across the country’s border.

The environment was darker here, the skies, the town, the life. But if it meant that they were completely unknown in this new city, maybe it was for the best.

An hour passed with the two having a staring contest. Sooyoung got rid of the tape covering Doyeon’s mouth, but she hadn’t spoken a word yet. Until Jungeun walked in.

Doyeon eyed Jungeun suspiciously, an unnerving grin making its way onto her face. What happened next was inevitable.

“Kim Jungeun. We meet again.”

An unreadable look flashed across her face, but she stared wordlessly. Sooyoung watched the two interact cautiously.

“Has Sooyoung ever told you the truth?”

_Sooyoung managed to sneak away from Doyeon, which was a challenging feat considering how clingy her friend was. But she left the moment she fell asleep._

_“The stars are really bright tonight.” She grimaced at her corny words, hoping Jungeun thought otherwise. Her soft giggles eased her nerves._

_They sat in silence until Jungeun spoke. “What’s the future like?”_

_Sooyoung felt compelled to be honest. “Not any better.” Jungeun nodded, looking somewhat disappointed. The night breeze swiped at their cheeks, drawing them closer._

_Thump thump._

_Her next question caught her off guard._

_“If I came to the future, would you find me again?”_

_Jungeun turned towards her, gaze flitting down to her lips in an obvious manner. Sooyoung held her breath, the answer on the tip of her tongue._

_Then a bright flash._

Jungeun swiftly turned towards her, locking eyes, still not saying a word. Confusion and hurt swirled in her eyes, but Sooyoung couldn’t question it before she stormed out of the room. She took one last look at Doyeon, scoffing before she chased after her girlfriend.

“Wait!”

Their friends were gathered in the living room, conversations coming to a halt at the sight of the two and the tension they were emitting.

Jungeun’s arms were crossed in a way like she was holding herself, eyebrows furrowed harshly with tears gathering in her eyes. Haseul made a move to stand up, but Yeojin pushed her back down.

“I knew something was off when I woke up the next morning. I brushed it off because I couldn’t make any sense of it.”

Sooyoung gulped, the guilt she tried to bury over the years trying to crawl its way back up her throat. She noticed Hyunjin’s questioning gaze.

“Now it all makes sense.” Jungeun whispered to herself, but everyone could hear her loud and clear. “You wiped my memories.”

The room went silent, besides Yeojin’s gasp before it was cut short by Vivi’s hand. Heejin’s mouth hung open and so did Hyunjin’s.

“ _Doyeon_ did.” It was such a feeble attempt at an excuse.

“It doesn’t matter who did, it still happened. You still let it happen.”

Panic coursed through her, leaving her mind blank. Her worst nightmare has now manifested into its final form.

“We’re over, Sooyoung.”

~

“How has she been?”

Haseul shrugged, avoiding Hyunjin’s eyes. “Same old, same old. You know how 2021 played out.”

Hyunjin deadpanned, wanting more information. It had been a year since Jungeun broke up with her sister and ran back in time. To _her_ time.

Haseul was the only one Jungeun managed to keep in contact with via holograms. She pretended like it didn’t hurt, that she didn’t want to talk to Hyunjin after everything. She guesses the reminder of her sister was too much.

Speaking of her sister. “When’s the last time you’ve seen Sooyoung?”

“A few weeks ago? She came over acting all weird.”

“It must’ve been after I told her about this.” Hyunjin held up her left hand, a gold band wrapped around her fourth finger. Haseul gasped.

“What the— and you’re just telling me this now?!” She engulfed the younger girl in a hug. “Congratulations to you both!”

Hyunjin blushed. “When’s your wedding with Vivi?” Haseul fumbled with the hammer in her hand, ultimately losing grip on it as it clanked noisily on the ground. Hyunjin’s eyebrows shot up amusedly.

Haseul stuttered before quickly changing the subject. “Your sister kept asking about the time pod we locked up in storage after we sent Jungeun back.”

Hyunjin slowly sat up on the couch. “Haseul. Did you tell her how to work it?”

“I mean, it’s pretty straightforward. You configure the date and time and press the green button— Oh no.”

The two rushed over to the spare room they reserve for storage and swung the door open. The time pod was gone.

“You mean to tell me,” Hyunjin let out a breath to calm herself. “My sister used _your_ time pod without you even noticing?!”

“She must have snuck in and used it!”

Hyunjin ran her hands through her hair, laughter suddenly coming out of her. Haseul gave her a strange look before letting out a nervous chuckle herself.

“Sooyoung went to get Jungeun back!”

~

Jungeun left the cafe and waved goodbye to her coworkers. The sun had set hours ago and they had just finished cleaning up. She took off her apron and folded it up to put into her backpack. The cafe being on campus was convenient since the dorms were right across the street.

But she still felt a chill run down her spine.

Lately, she’s been having this odd feeling that someone’s been watching her or following her.

“The stars aren’t bright tonight. Except for one.”

She froze in place at the voice. A voice she hadn’t heard in a long time, but missed dearly.

“That was so corny.” Sooyoung mumbled to herself. “Kim Jungeun, I would come and find you in any time period. Be with you in any time period. If you want, that is.”

She turned around, ever so slowly.

A flood of memories rushed through her. The good, the bad, the sad, the happy. All of it. Her heart clenched at the sight of Sooyoung, finally seeing her in person after all this time.

It took a while to get through everything, having fled back to 2021 and consuming herself with school and a job. The wounds were still there, but she had the time to process through it. In the end, she still loved Sooyoung. And always was going to.

A tearful smile made it’s way onto her face.

“You still haven’t even told me why you call yourself Yves.”

Sooyoung’s big smile showed her teeth as she hurried towards her, lifting her up in a warm hug.

“I’ve missed you so much.”

“Me too.”

~

“Don’t you find it strange how we never found out what they were going to do?”

“I’m just thankful that we _didn’t_ find out. You guys probably wouldn’t be here.”

“Yeah, thanks to your crappy robot.”

“Hey! Wall-E has feelings.”

_Beep beep._

“You haven’t gotten it to start talking again?”

_Furious beeping._

“I’m basically building it from scratch.”

_Beeping intensifying._

“Well, get to it. Jungeun is coming home soon.”


End file.
